


Two Wrongs Make a Right, Right?

by laziedaisies



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alpha Uchiha Sasuke, Alpha Uzumaki Naruto, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Bottom Uzumaki Naruto, Drama, Fluff, Knotting, M/M, Mentioned Character Death, Pining, Smut, Top Uchiha Sasuke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:47:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 132,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laziedaisies/pseuds/laziedaisies
Summary: Naruto is an alpha that wishes to be an omega and have children of his own, but he's found a way to find something close that he's happy with.At least he had until he meets another alpha that brings all of that yearning right back out of him
Relationships: Haku/Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke/Hurano Sakura (Previous), Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 556
Kudos: 782





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from a lovely reader, WinterHime, on my previous SasuNaru fic.
> 
> If you have any requests, I'd love to hear them!(:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I am back with another A/B/O SasuNaru fic because they are simply my favorite!(:
> 
> Bare with me while the ball gets rolling on this one! If you read my last story you know that there will be plenty of smut and fluff!
> 
> Also, I made Karin Naruto's twin in this, but that will make more sense later on.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!<3

"-and I'm pretty sure they forgot to process our food order for next week" Karin said, almost out of breath from reciting the laundry list of things that Naruto needed to fix after his 'break'.

"Jesus. Alright, I'll get everything settled" Naruto said regretfully.

After a week away he had really missed his kids and wanted nothing more than spend the day bouncing from class to class playing with all of the little monsters.

"Make sure you stop by the rooms a little though, they all missed you like crazy. Sarada has been asking for her 'Naru' since you left" his sister said.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. He knew that he _shouldn't_ have favorites, but there was no denying that she was it.

She was so unbelievably sweet and smart for her young age of only four, but she was painfully quiet, which led her to more often than not playing by herself or with a teacher, usually Naruto.

"You know I can't resist the little monsters" Naruto said with a fond smile and a chuckle as he dove into the shit show that had become his facility. Karin just gave him a mock salute as she made her way back to the kitchen to finish up on the breakfast for the kids.

He loved his job, truly he did, but he hated all of the paperwork and the behind the scenes stuff that came with it. He would be more than happy just spending his days in his classrooms, but unfortunately, this was the only way things could work.

Things were difficult for Naruto. 

He was an alpha, who was the furthest thing from society's standards for an alpha.

Growing up he was always such a sweet child, and that had never changed. He was a very kind man with a huge heart. He was rather sensitive and because of these traits, everyone thought that he would have wound up an omega.

At least they had thought that until he grew to the height of six foot one and effortlessly developed broad, strong muscles. He had to work to keep them now, but as a teenager, his various sports were all that he needed. This was definitely the first signs of an alpha.

His physical traits were that of pure alpha, so it was no shock to most when he had presented as an alpha at the age of sixteen.

His family had been surprised though, they knew Naruto better than anyone, and they knew that he was much more omega than alpha when his outter appearance was excluded.

It had been a running joke between him and sister; their secondary genders got switched at birth.

Karin was his twin sister, and despite that fact, she never let him forget that she was a measly seven minutes older, and she was an omega. 

She was about the furthest thing from an omega when it came to personality, and while Naruto hated secondary gender stereotypes, he couldn't deny that her jarring personality just screamed alpha.

He remembered being so jealous when his sister had presented as an omega, even if society viewed alphas as the end all be all. Hell, he would've taken being a beta over being an alpha!

At least that way he might one day find a male alpha to mate with, but unfortunately for him, alphas never really went for other alphas.

He had always hoped that he would just be a big ass omega. He had known since he was young that he was very much gay, like the gayest of gay, but he had always wanted children.

It had confused the hell out of him when he didn't even entertain the thought of one day having children with an omega, because only omegas or beta women were capable of carrying children. 

_He_ wanted to one day be the one carrying the child.

He had no idea what to make of this realization when it'd hit him, but after experiencing his first rut, it was painfully obvious.

Instead of feeling this desperate need to fill something, he was desperate to _be_ filled. 

After some awkward conversations with his sister about it, he realized that he was just not cut out to be a 'normal' alpha.

He didn't know if it was even possible to feel like you presented wrong, considering your secondary gender was supposed to be what drove your instincts, but Naruto was convinced that was what had happened to him.

His parents had no issue with his sexuality and were very supportive of his internal crisis. They went so far as to have his godmother, Tsunade, confirm through blood tests that he was truly an alpha.

There had been no denying it; Naruto was an alpha.

He went through life just trying to work with the hand he had been dealt, no matter how shitty of a hand he thought it was.

He was like a big kid himself, so he had always wanted to be a teacher, but he much preferred being around daycare aged children so that he could coo and play with cute little babies too. Who doesn't like babies!?

When he was in college he had tried to get a part time job at a daycare, but none were willing to hire a male alpha as a teacher.

Society saw alphas as aggressive and stern, not soft and caring, and while there were some daycares that cattered more toward an 'alpha upbringing', Naruto wanted nothing to do with them.

But it was basically his life's calling or some shit like that, so he graduated with his major as business and a minor in early childhood education in hopes to land an administration job at a school.

He had been absolutely crushed when his parents passed away, but the inheritance that they'd left him allowed him to open up his own daycare falicity.

No one saw any issue with an alpha running a business, even if it was in a field deemed more appropriate for omegas and betas. So long as an alpha was in charge, no one batted an eye.

When Naruto gave tours to prospective families, he was always sure to mention that he was the owner and not a teacher, even though he spent just as much time in the classrooms as his teachers. He usually just slacked off on his paperwork and anything that could wait untill all of the kids were picked up. He was always here late to make sure that everything got done, but that he also got to spend time with the kiddos.

This little white lie was basically the only way that he got to do what he loved. He felt relatively bad about the slight deception, but once the children were here for a month or so, the parents saw no issue with Naruto being around them more than they'd originally thought.

Once they got to know him, the parents loved him, he was just too damn charming to resist. It was just about getting over the initial hurdle of him being an alpha to get them in the door.

His sister had been supportive enough to be by his side throughout the entire process of establishing Rasengan Child Care. It made things much easier to have an omega involved from the get go, even if she was about as soft as a cinder block.

He had hired mostly omegas, but that was only because the best candidates just so happened to be omegas. 

He had hired a few betas, but so far no alphas, not that many ever applied.

He wanted the best for his kiddos, and the few surly alphas that had applied were definitely not it.

He loved his job, not because of the money, even if the money was pretty damn good. Childcare is expensive as hell, and the raving reviews from his first round of enrolled families had gotten him an incredible amount of sign ups. His amazing facility and loyal clients had landed him one of the top spots in the daycare business.

He was as happy as he felt he would ever be allowed to be.

-

"Hi, Hinata!" Naruto said as he walked into his four year old's classroom. 

He was making the rounds after he had finished up sorting out the most pressing issues, and he just had to stop by his favorite room first.

A whole week away had been rough, Naruto really got used to seeing all of his kids everyday. 

Before Hinata could even respond, he was bombarded with children.

"Naruto!" At least six of them screamed as a pile of little people gathered at his legs to give him hugs.

"Hi guys! Did ya miss me!?" He shouted excitedly as he bent down to give them all the hugs they were looking for.

Naruto had a hard time focusing on just one kid at a time when they were all screaming at him about how much they missed him or where he went, there were even some wanting to show them a 'cool new trick' they could do.

Naruto chuckled and just let them talk his ears off, enjoying the nonstop energy of them for a few minutes.

Eventually their short attention spans got the best of them and it was on to the next cool thing for most of them, so he took the chance to get back up and head over to one of the four year old room's teachers.

"Sorry about that" Naruto said with his effortlessly charming smile as he came to stand next to Hinata.

"They missed you. I hope you had a good vacation" Hinata squeaked out with an uncomfortable looking blush.

Most people would think that it was because he had obviously been gone due to his rut, but the beautiful omega was always like this around Naruto.

He had been genuinely concerned that she was going to pass out during her interview when she'd first applied.

She was a lovely girl, and great with the kids, but Naruto had no idea how to break it to her that she was simply not his type.

He wasn't obviously gay, but he didn't think it was all that hard to figure out which way he swung. 

"I missed them too. How have you been?" Naruto asked, just breezing over the topic of his 'vacation'. 

"Good, the kids really like the new meal plans you set up" she said, still struggling to look anywhere but the bright tile of the floor.

"Glad to hear it!" Naruto said, genuinely excited.

He for sure thought that the kids would stage a mutany when he made the food healthier, but was pleasantly surprised when that turned out not to be the case.

"Alright! Whose ready to get all those crazies out outside before lunch?" He heard Temari, the other teacher for the room, shout out to the children.

He heard a stream of yelling from the bouncing kids, but noticed a head of impossibly black hair staying still off to the side.

He smiled and waved at Hinata as he headed over to the small table that she was seated at.

"Whatcha got there?" Naruto asked as he squatted down next to Sarada, not even trying to sit in one of the chairs.

He had learned very early on that he did not fit in chairs meant for four year olds. The embarrassment of having to waddle to his sister for help with a miniature chair stuck to his ass was not something that he wanted to relive anytime soon.

She normally waited for the sea of children to clear before she came up to him, but she had just stayed put today. He could tell that something was up.

"Its an Boeing seven forty seven" she said as she set down her crayon.

Naruto was surprised. He thought it was just a picture of an airplane, but then again, Sarada was wicked smart.

"I can see that!" Naruto lied. He found it strange that she drew different kinds of planes so frequently, but hey, at least he could tell that it was actually some kind of an airplane. For a four year old's drawing, that was saying a lot. 

"Its very good" Naruto said with a smile when she didn't respond.

"Thank you. I made it for you. Its the most common plane for 'mercial flights. Miss Hinata said that you were on vacation, so I thought you might be on one, so I drewed it for you. See, there you are" she said as she pointed to a tan stick figure with wild blonde hair sticking out of the window and waiving.

Naruto let out a hearty laugh at that. There was a certain likeness that was undeniable and rather amusing.

"Thank you very much. I love it!" Naruto said as he gave her a hug.

She gave him a small smile that quickly returned to a flat line.

"Everything alright, Sarada?" Naruto asked gently, being sure to whisper so that she knew he would keep it a secret.

She stayed silent for a moment, looking like she was debating on whether or not to tell him, but she eventually made up her mind. "Do you think I'm bad?" She asked, looking like she was about to cry.

Naruto's heart damn near broke at the heart wrenching expression on her cute little face.

She had her bottom lip jutted out in a frown and it was trembling.

"Of course not! You're not even close to bad! Why would you think something like that?" Naruto asked, truly concerned.

When he had first opened up his facility, there was training that he had to go through, and recognizing the signs of child abuse was one of them. He didn't jump straight to the worst case scenario, but this was one of the indicators of an emotionally unhealthy situation.

He had met her mother, a pink haired omega named Sakura, plenty of times, but never her father. Her mother was rather snarky, but seemed nice enough. 

He hated to think that one of her parents could be mistreating her, especially since she had a brother that was only five months old.

She just started crying hysterically, and without a second thought he scooped her up and rushed her out of the classroom so that she could have some privacy.

They were out in the hall and he sat her on the bech between two doors as he crounched down in front of her.

"Hey, hey, hey. Shhh, Sarada, its okay. Whats going on?" He said, trying to console the now frantically crying four year old.

She took a few big gulps of air and started to calm down after a few minutes of Naruto smoothing down her hair as he held her small hand.

"M-my mo-m is go-ne and I heard my d-ad say t-hat she c-ould-n't han-dle me a-nd Ren" she said through hiccups.

Naruto was shocked. 

With her words and based on her reaction, Naruto instantly jumped to the worst conclusion.

He was well aware what it felt like to lose a parent, and he knew all about post partum depression.

"I'm so sorry, Sarada. Shhh, hey, its okay. Come here" he said as he pulled her into a hug.

When she finally started to calm down, he began to speak again.

"My mommy is gone too, but not because me and Miss Karin were bad. She loved us very much. Mommies love their pups. I know your mommy loves you" he said, trying to stick with her wording so as to not give too much away. He wasn't sure how her father had chosen to explain it to her. 

She let out a sniffle and nodded as Naruto dried her eyes.

She looked so helpless and it really hurt Naruto to see her this way. She was always quiet, but still happy, so this was not something that he was used to. 

No four year old should have to go through that. 

"How about you spend the day with me? I have a whole bunch of stuff to catch up on and I could really use some help?" He said, raising his tone a little to try and get her excited.

All she did was nod and wipe her nose on the back of her hand.

"Awesome! Okay, let me go get your backpack and drawing and tell Miss Hinata and Miss Temari that you're coming with me. You stay here, alright?" Naruto said as he got up to go in and gather her things.

He was somewhat used to this. If ever a kid was sick and waiting to be picked up, they got to come hang out with him in his office until one of their parents got there. 

It actually kind of worked out for Naruto. This way he would be forced into catching up on his work. He might not have to stay until ten tonight, after all.

-

Naruto was currently bouncing Ren on his knee with a hand across his chubby little baby stomach as he went through to log the sign outs for the day as Sarada napped on the couch in his office.

He took notice of the clock and sighed.

It was now six thirteen. They closed at six.

Its not that he hadn't planned on being here well past closing, and parents being late happens every once and a while, but he was slightly irritated with Ren and Sarada's father.

He had looked up the man's number in Sarada's file as soon as they got back to his office, and once she was all set up, he had stepped out to give him a call.

He got the man, Sasuke's, voice-mail, which wasn't entirely unexpected in the middle of the work day, but he had left a message. A message that the man hadn't returned in the almost six hours it had been since Naruto left it.

And now he was late.

Naruto had never met Mr. Uchiha, it was always Sakura picking up the children, and he wanted to talk to him about Sadara's meltdown.

He was more than willing to talk to Sarada, being as how he knew what it was like to lose a mother, but he needed to have a conversation with her father first to make sure that he would be okay with it.

It was hard enough to be a male, alpha daycare owner without adding 'over steps boundaries' to the list.

He pulled up Sarada's enrollment file to pull up her father's phone number again.

Their policy was to wait fifteen minutes after close, and if they hadn't heard from the parent by then, they give them a call.

Naruto shot a quick goofy face to Ren, who was slobbering all over as he blew bubbles, before he started to dial the man's number.

He was just about to press the final digit when he heard someone burst into the main lobby right outside of his office.

His door was open, so when a frantic looking man whipped around to see Naruto sitting at his desk with what he presumed to be the man's son on his lap, he let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry. I got held back in a meeting and tho-" he took a moment and actually observed the sight in front of him.

He wasn't used to seeing his son held with so much care, it did this weird tightening thing in his chest.

Guilt maybe?

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Just getting used to my new schedule" the man finished.

The man hadn't stepped into Naruto's office yet, but Naruto was frozen with his finger still hovering over his phone's dialpad.

Holy fucking _alpha_.

This had to be Mr. Uchiha. 

He had the same dark hair and eyes, the same pale skin as Sarada and Ren, and holy shit, did it work for him.

He was tall, probably even taller than Naruto. While there was no questioning whether or not he was an alpha, he was unusually _pretty_.

It was strange for Naruto to think of another grown man as being pretty, but fuck, thats simply what he was. 

His hair flowed and framed his face so perfectly that it didn't seem real and his bone structure was so defined that Naruto was sure it was capable of maiming someone. 

And that scent! 

Naruto was not wired to find another alpha's scent alluring, due to him being an alpha as well, but shit. He was still able to figure out if they smelt somewhat appealing, but he had never encountered something like this.

Naruto was tempted to come up with prose about how good it smelt, but at the end of the day it really just smelled like pure sex to him.

The man wasn't even in his office and his scent was just _everywhere_. 

Naruto wouldn't be shocked if there was one of those cartoon scent waves swirling around him.

"What is the fee for a late pick up?" The man said when Naruto just continued his open mouthed staring.

Naruto came back to the world of living and coughed to try and hide some of his embarrassment.

Most alphas didn't appreciate being openinly ogled by other alphas.

Sasuke honestly didn't care. He was used to it by now. 

He was a good looking and powerful alpha, he was used to being stared at. And this guy wasn't exactly not worthy of being stared at either. 

Sasuke briefly thought that he might be a beta, which may or may not have intrigued him, but was quickly disappointed when he registered the blonde's scent.

It was gentler than the average alpha's, but it was an alpha's scent nonetheless.

That was why Sasuke stayed put and waited for the blonde man to come to him. He did not want to enter such a confined space that was swimming in that _interesting_ scent.

He found it odd enough that he wasn't immediately turned off by it and he didn't need his body telling him just how much he didn't hate it by getting a better whiff.

"Oh, uh no fee. I would've been here anyway. I take it that you're Mr. Uchiha?" Naruto said as he continued to bounce the infant on his knee who was now making excited huffing sounds at the sight of his father.

"You're sure?" Sasuke asked skeptically. He was clearly on edge. He was _never_ late.

"Yeah, I actually was wanting to speak with you. I called your number that we have on file earlier today and left a message" Naruto said as he got up and walked into the main lobby so that they wouldn't wake Sadara.

"You probably have my personal number listed. I hardly use that phone. My apologies" Sasuke said as he backed up and followed Naruto over to the front desk.

Naruto felt some weird sympathy for the man at that statement. Judging by the man's perfectly tailored and very nice suit, he was sure that he made good money, but to literally only ever use your work line was just kind of sad.

"Thats alright. This ended up working out. Now we can talk face to face. But first, I'm going to need to see your ID" Naruto said from behind the desk.

Sasuke just gave him a questioning look.

"Since this is your first time picking them up, we ask to see your ID to make sure that you're on the list. We just scan it and put it in the kid's file. Sorry, its just a safety measure" Naruto explained.

It must have been a good enough excuse for Sasuke, because he nodded and reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket to pull out his wallet.

He silently pulled out his ID and handed it over to Naruto.

Naruto didn't even look at the name printed on the card, Stevie Wonder could see that he was related to Sarada and Ren.

His eyes went right to the photo.

_Oh come on! No one looks good in these pictures!?_

Yet here he was, looking like a model, even under the shitty lighting of the DMV.

Blue eyes landed on that red A in the lower corner and he fought to keep in a disheartened sigh. Not that he needed any confirmation, but there it was. Something about actually seeing proof of Sasuke's secondary gender just filled Naruto with disappointment.

Naruto spun around in the chair and placed the ID in the scanner and hit print.

He suddenly realized that he was still holding Ren.

"Sorry about that" Naruto said with an awkward chuckle as he handed the baby over.

Sasuke took his son, not understanding why he hadn't really noticed or taken an issue with Naruto continuing to hold Ren after he'd gotten there. 

He was an alpha, and alphas were generally not fond of alphas that they didn't know holding their children. Sasuke may not be the most involved father, but he was a protective father.

It just weirdly seemed weirdly normal for the blonde to be holding his son, which was another thought that Sasuke quickly pushed down.

Sasuke definitely didn't exactly look like a natural with babies. He was holding Ren with his arms so stiff it looked like they might break and he was clearly trying to avoid getting baby drool on his suit.

Naruto almost laughed.

He was far too used to children by now to wear anything that he cared about getting drooled on or stained.

The beep from the printer let Naruto know everything was all set so he retrieved Sasuke's ID and handed it back.

Sasuke took it and just kind of stood there awkwardly before Naruto took the hint.

"Oh, here. Let me grab him" Naruto said as he once again took hold of Ren.

"Thanks. I forgot to bring his carseat in" Sasuke grumbled as he put his ID into his jacket pocket.

"You know, we have a carseat rack in the entry where you enter your code. Most parents just put it there after drop off so they won't have to worry about it" Naruto said with a smile.

"Thanks. You said that you wanted to discuss something with me?" Sasuke said curtly.

He was irritated at how obvious it was that he had no clue what the fuck he was doing. 

Sasuke Uchiha never let anyone see him sweat.

"Yes. Well today, Sarada had a meltdown" Naruto started.

Sasuke's impassive face actually looked confused.

He might not know his daughter all that well, but he knew that she wasn't the type to cry. She was an Uchiha, after all.

"Everything was fine. She spent the day helping me in the office and kitchen, which seemed to help. But she asked me if I thought that she was bad because of something she, uh overheard. When I asked her what was going on, she started crying" Naruto explained.

Sasuke just let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He knew _exactly_ what she was referring to. He knew that he'd heard her footsteps last night.

"I understand. I'll be sure to be more mindful of my surroundings before I speak to my ex wife" Sasuke said.

He stiffened slightly at his admission.

Most people he would just tell to mind their own damn business, but something about those irritatingly blue eyes made him recklessly divulge more information than he was comfortable with.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked, clearly surprised.

"Yes?" Sasuke replied. Surely this guy had to have met Sakura before.

"Oh, its just that Sarada said that her mom was gone and I, uh- I just assumed..." Naruto trailed off awkwardly.

He didn't want to admit that he had jumped to the conclusion that she had offed herself. It was a bit dramatic, but when you've experienced losing a loved one, your mind just kind of goes there on its own accord.

Plus, Sakura had very much been mated when he'd seen her the week before last. This had to have been very recent.

Sasuke just let out a huff and eyed the blonde.

Sasuke didn't know how this shit worked. This had always been Sakura's domain.

_How much should I tell him? Is this shit that he even needs to know? He obviously has to deal with the fallout with Sarada._

"Sakura and I are getting divorced. She will no longer be seeing the kids. Sarada overheard a phone call between her mother and I. I apologize for any issues from today" Sasuke said as he reached for his son again.

Naruto practically let out a sigh of relief at first, but then realized that this might even be harder for Sarada.

Having your parent either do something to warrant them not being able to see their children or just simply choosing not to had to be way more traumatizing.

Naruto found himself getting irritated.

He wanted nothing more than to have children of his own, yet there was a mother out there doing shit like this!

It was virtually unheard of for an omega mother to abandon her children, their mothering instincts were supposes to be too strong. For an omega to do that, they had to be unbelievably cold.

"At all? Did you want me to put her on the 'Can't Pick Up List'?" Naruto asked, going back into professional mode to mask his inappropriate anger.

"The what?" Sasuke asked as he allowed his son to chew on his finger.

"Its basically the nice way of saying that we put them on a list, and if they show up, they're asked to leave or we call the cops" Naruto answered.

Sasuke nodded without hesitation.

"I'll add her before I leave. Sadara is sleeping in my office. I'll go grab her" Naruto said, trying to feign sympathy.

"Thank you. Again, I'm sorry I was late. I'm trying to move around my work schedule to accommodate everything, but some things have been set for months" Sasuke said.

Naruto stopped right outside of his office.

"You know, if you need any help with the adjustment, I'm happy to help. I'm here late everyday, so if ever you're running a little late, I wouldn't mind watching them until you got here" Naruto said.

He never really got to spend time with Sarada without ten other kids screaming for attention, plus that also meant he'd get to see Mr. Uchiha without the other parents around too.

Naruto could think of worse ways to spend his time than helping out a handsome alpha _and_ spending time with his favorite students.

"Seriously?" Sasuke asked as he stopped bouncing Ren.

"Yeah, I mean, it can't be easy balancing work and becomming a single parent. Just let me know whenever you're gonna be late. It's not a problem" Naruto said with a shrug.

"That would be great, actually. Thank you" Sasuke said, clearly not used to people offering to help without them wanting something in return.

"I'll give you my number and you can just shoot me a text if you'll be late" Naruto said as he went to his desk to grab a sticky note.

So what if this was somewhat of a ploy to get the man his number? A guy can dream can't he!?

He wrote his name and number down on the sticky note and handed it back to the unfairly attractive man.

"I really appreciate it" Sasuke said, kind of at a loss for words.

He was used to cut throat people, not kind ones who did things just for the sake of helping out. 

Sasuke took a look at the note in his hand and was shocked, but didn't allow it show on his face. He simply raised a questioning brow at the blonde.

"You're name is Naruto? Does Sarada call you Naru?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, most of the kids do" Naruto said with a beaming smile, proud of how the kids all liked him.

"She always talks about you" Sasuke said as the corner of his lip turned up.

Naruto suspected that was about as close to a smile as he'd ever get out of the man.

Sasuke had always thought that 'Naru' was a teacher. With how much Sarada talked about him, he had to be around the kids a lot. He had never met an alpha that chose to be around children that much, especially considering that childcare was viewed as more of an omega's position.

There were few alphas that he'd me that were willing to take that 'blow' to their ego.

Sasuke couldn't deny that he was slightly intrigued.

"I always make it a point to come and say hi to her. She's a good kid" Naruto said fondly as he went to go and wake her up.

Sasuke just watched the man retreat and caught himself right as his eyes landed on a rather firm looking ass.

He shot his eyes back up and turned the other way to avoid the uncharacteristic temptation.

He busied himself with trying to rid his son's face of all of the drool as neatly as possible.

"Daddy!" He heard Sarada say excitedly.

He turned back around to see Naruto holding his daughter's hand as she rubbed her tired looking eyes.

"Hi, princess" he said, only sounding somewhat forced.

He was still trying to get the hang of how to actually talk to children, but he was making progress!

Sarada rushed over and hugged her father's leg.

"Come on. Let's let Naruto get back to his day" Sasuke said as he nodded to Naruto as a silent goodbye.

Naruto nodded back as Sarada came back over to give him another hug.

"I'll see you 'morrow, Naru" she said with her cheek squished up against his leg.

"I'll see you tomorrow" Naruto chuckled as he patted her head before she rushed back over to her father.

As the lobby door was closing, Naruto heard Sarada's voice.

"Isn't he pretty, daddy?" She asked.

Naruto just laughed, but somehow managed to choke on air when he heard the baritone voice say, "He is very pretty".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some things planned for this fic that I am super excited about, so please let me know what you think!(:
> 
> I always live hearing from readers<3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just more of Sasuke and Naruto not knowing what the hell is going on.

The next few weeks were rather uneventful.

Naruto had quickly fallen into his new routine. Most days Sasuke was only about ten or so minutes late, and they never really talked all that much.

It was pretty much always just Sasuke thanking him, something Naruto suspected he didn't do too often, and Naruto insisting that it was fine.

The blonde refused to acknowledge the excitement that he felt when his phone would buzz, subconsciously hoping that it was Sasuke telling him what time he'd be able to get there.

There was just something about getting to see Sasuke when no one else would be around that made Naruto all gittery.

Unfortunately though, Sasuke's once daily notifications were starting to slow down. 

Naruto should be happy for him and his children that he was finding a rhythm and getting the hang of things, but he selfishly wanted to feel needed by the other alpha.

He would never classify himself as some kind of homemaker or anything like that, but it had felt nice to do something somewhat domestic for an alpha, like watching his kids when he wasn't being paid. 

Naruto ignored the voice in his head telling him that it wasn't just because Sasuke was an alpha, but because he was _Sasuke_.

He had even found himself getting territorial of the man as of late.

Ever since Sasuke had been able to pick up Sarada and Ren before they closed, the teachers had finally been able to see him, and of course they were all in love.

He had been helping Karin and Ino with taking out the garbage when they just went on and on about the 'dreamboat' that was Sasuke, Ino's words, not his.

Naruto had apparently slipped up and let out a quiet growl, but thankfully, Ino had misinterpreted it.

"Woah, I know that he is basically your polar opposite, but what the hell did he do to piss you off so much?" Ino had asked.

"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing. He's just kind of a dick" Naruto said.

It hadn't been a total lie. Naruto wasn't lusting after the guy hard enough to not pick up that he was in fact, kind of a dick. But that didn't mean that Naruto still didn't want his.

He knew that he had no chance in hell against an omega like Ino. She was abnormally beautiful and would make the perfect mate, something that Naruto was envious of.

"Well be careful. You don't want to piss that man off" she said.

"And why is that? Afraid I'll chase him off and ruin your chances?" He responded dryly.

Naruto still remembered the unfamiliar irritation he'd felt scratching at the surface at the mention of Ino actually having a chance with Sasuke, not that it was all that far fetched of an idea.

"That, and he is like crazy rich. His family owns almost all of the city" she'd said in awe.

He had literally never rolled his eyes so hard in his entire life.

_Of course she'd care that he's rich as shit._

Naruto could tell the guy was well off, but hearing that Sasuke had family around was strange to him.

He had seen a grandparent or an aunt or uncle pick up kids when the parents were running late countless times.

_Why doesn't Sasuke send one of them?_

It had thrown Naruto for a little bit of a loop. 

The hopeless romantic and delusional side of him hoped that maybe it had something to do with Sasuke wanting to see him too. 

Naruto just kept hearing that deliciously low voice saying "He is very pretty" over and over again in his head.

Then rational would catch up to him and he would just sulk, which is what lead him to huffing as Ren slept on his chest and Sarada watched some show on Naruto's phone.

"I know I'm late, but am I that late?" Sasuke said as he stopped by the log book to sign his children out.

Naruto didn't know how he'd missed Sasuke coming in.

"No, no, no. You're good. Just daycare stuff" Naruto lied.

His insecurities about being an alpha had been coming up more and more lately. 

He had thought that he was finally able to just be happy with what he had, then tall, pale, and handsome over here had to just come in to his life and fuck it all up.

"Not enough juice boxes?" Sasuke teased dryly.

Naruto would normally take offense to someone taking a jab at his profession, but he had come to learn that it was just Sasuke's way of letting Naruto know that he was listening.

Naruto shouldn't feel like he knew the guy, they didn't talk all that often, but he couldn't help it.

Not only did Naruto just feel this need to connect with everyone he met, he felt this pull specifically to the other alpha.

A pull that was starting to get on his nerves.

Naruto just wanted his happiness back, even if it had just been a happiness that he'd settled for.

He hadn't felt this insecure about his secondary gender since high school, and the last thing that he wanted was to fall back into that lost and helpless feeling again.

"You'd be surprised how big of an issue that can be" Naruto said as he forced a smile.

"I'm sure" Sasuke said with a smirk as Naruto got up to gently place Ren into his carseat without disturbing him.

"You have got to teach me how to do that" Sasuke said, actually allowing his voice to sound one tenth of the way to amazed as Naruto managed to get the infant all buckled up without waking him.

"Babies just like me" Naduto said with a shrug.

The sudden flash of what looked to be guilt in Sasuke's eyes didn't go unnoticed by Naruto, but it did go unmentioned.

"I was actually wondering if you knew of any babysitters that the other parents might use?" Sasuke asked, clearly uncomfortable.

Naruto had figured out almost right away that Sasuke was unfimiliar with asking for help of any kind.

"I can ask during drop offs tomorrow. How often would you need them?" Naruto asked, trying to hide whatever emotion was trying to shine through.

He didn't know if it was irritation, jealously, disappointment, or just plain old sadness.

Naruto honestly found it surprising that Sasuke hadn't found a nanny or something yet, the guy clearly had the money and was busy enough to warrant one.

But it seemed that Sasuke was finally of the same opinion.

Naruto was not proud of the fact that he was beyond disappointed.

He had gone almost four years without ever meeting Sasuke because Sakura always picked up the kids. If he got a babysitter for after six, Naruto would probably never see the alpha again.

While he did want his happiness back, he didn't think it was possible anymore if things went right back to how they had been.

"Just for Friday" Sasuke said, yanking Naruro out of his internal monolog.

Naruto felt like his heart dropped.

_He probably has a date._

"I have a meeting all the way on the east coast and the earliest I can be back is nine on Friday night. I just need someone to pick them up and put them down for the night, but I don't have anyone that I trust with them. I figured I'd see if you had any reccomendations" Sasuke elaborated when he noticed the confusion on the blonde's face.

Naruto surprised himself when he managed to hide his relief and happiness.

_That must mean he trusts me!_

An alpha parent trusting another alpha around their children was not something that was easily earned, especially if they weren't one of their family members.

"Oh, well I don't know of anyone off the top of my head, but like I said, I can ask. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to put you in contact with them in time though" Naruto said.

It wasn't an entire lie. It was Wednesday, and good, trustworthy babysitters were hard enough to come by, especially with only a days warning.

Plus, he saw it as an opportunity when Sasuke let out a defeated sigh.

"You could always just pack their pajamas and send Ren with some extra bottles. I'd be happy to help. You could just pick them up here whenever you're back" Naruto said, feigning nonchalance.

"I can't ask you to do that. You already help me out pretty much every day with them" Sasuke said, still visibly stressed.

Naruto didn't know how Sasuke did it. Sarada and Ren were always the first kids dropped off and the last ones picked up. Sasuke had to be working hellish hours on top of taking on the care of two young kids all by himself. 

It was more than commendable.

"Its really not a problem. They're easy kids" Naruto said as he gestured to the two Uchiha children to emphasize his point. "Plus, I'll be sad when Sarada goes off to school next year. Gotta hang out with her while I can" he added on.

"I thought you weren't supposed to have favorites?" Sasuke said with a smirk as he zipped up Ren and Sarada's backpacks.

"Perks of being the boss. I can do what I want" Naruto said with a shrug as he leaned back against the wall.

Sasuke's seemingly emotionless eyes were on Naruto once again, almost like he was sizing him up.

Sasuke broke his gaze with a deep, rumbling chuckle and nodded.

"You're absolutely sure about Friday?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"Yup, and that way you don't have to worry about someone they don't know watching them. They're already comfortable with me" Naruto said with his signature grin.

He could see that Sasuke was already sold on the idea, seeing as how he didn't exactly have any other options, but Naruto was embarrassingly desperate to get the other alpha to agree.

"Alright. Thank you, Naruto" Sasuke said as he gave Naruto the closest thing to a smile that he'd felt in years, but he had a suspicion that it came off as more of a smirk.

Naruto just nodded and allowed himself the chance to just admire Sasuke for a second before offering his friendly smile. 

"Sarada, let's get going" Sasuke called out as he held the unexpectedly intense eye contact with the blonde. 

Naruto snapped out of it when Sarada came bounding out of his office. She stopped by to give Naruto's leg a quick hug before joining her father and brother. 

"I'll text you" Sasuke said as he made his way out with his children.

Naruto didn't trust his voice enough to respond, so he just stayed quiet to save himself the embarrassment of sounding like an excited school girl.

The charged atmosphere left from their staring match still had Naruto buzzing with excitement.

And if his heart was beating so hard that it felt like it might bust right through his sternum, then that was his own damn bussiness.

-

Thursday had dragged on at a torturously slow rate, but it was finally Friday, and Naruto was irrationally excited.

He had always watched his younger cousins growing up, and he had loved looking after them and getting them ready for bed. 

There was just something about it that felt extremely maternal and made Naruto feel special, since he'd always dreamed of having children.

He had just gotten in for the day, much later than he usually did.

He had been getting the facility's food handlers license renewed, and while it needed to be done, he'd been rather upset that he missed seeing Sasuke this morning.

_Pull yourself together, Uzumaki! He's just some guy!_

"Woah, look at you. Hot date?" Karin said as she just sauntered into his office and sprawled out on the couch.

"What? No! I'm just in a t-shirt!" Naruto balked.

Okay, so maybe he had dressed up a little, but not too much to make it obvious! He normally wore older, loose fitting t-shirts and well worn jeans to work. With how much time he spent around walking stain makers, he never wore anything of importance, and he liked to be comfortable.

Today he had put on a tight, plain white t-shirt that stretched nicely over his chest and some black jeans that accentuated everything that should be accentuated.

"Don't give me that. You're wearing an 'I'm trying to get laid outfit and you know it. I've seen Ino in looser clothes" she said, knowing her brother far too well to buy into his bullshit.

Naruto just scoffed.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with Mr. Sex On Legs, would it?" She asked with a mischievous grin. She always loved to mercilessly tease him while they were growing up, and unfortunately, some things just never change.

"And who would that be?" Naruto asked, knowing damn well who she was referring to. It was a fairly accurate description after all.

"The same guy that asked me to let you know to call him as soon as you can" she said with a look that read 'Gotcha!'

Naruto visibly perked up and it did not go unnoticed by Karin.

"Jesus, Karin, he's a parent! Its about Sarada and Ren" Naruto quickly explained, probably _too_ quickly.

It wasn't a lie! He was sure that it had something to do with tonight.

"Yeah, and that explains why you look like that, how?" She asked.

"Maybe I do have a hot date tonight" Naruto replied, hoping that she would just drop it.

He had never been good at keeping things from her, and he was worried that if she continued to press it that he would just come clean about everything.

"Naruto. You do know that he has two children right? With a female. A female omega" she said bluntly, suddenly sounding very concerned.

"Yeah, no shit, Karin. I've met Sakura on multiple occasions" he said with an eye roll.

He did not need reminding about how far fetched his pining actually was.

"Just remember what happened the last time you went after an alpha with a proclivity for omegas" she warned in a caring tone.

Naruto just scoffed again, not wanting to deal with _those_ memories.

"Don't you have children to go wrangle?" Naruto asked, wanting to get her out as soon as possible so that he could call Sasuke.

He knew he couldn't get through a single conversation with Sasuke without blushing and smiling like mad, even if it was just over the phone. He did not need his sister giving him shit about it.

"I guess. I'll see you later. Enjoy talking to your boyfriend, little brother" she said as she got up to head back to her class room.

"Seven minutes!" Naruto yelled out at her retreating form, only earning a laugh from the red head.

He sighed fondly and dug his phone out of his pocket, which proved to be very difficult with his jeans clinging to his thighs the way they were.

_Maybe I did go too overboard. Should I go home and change?_

It was like twin telepathy or some shit, because as if on que, he got a text from his sister.

'Relax, I was just giving you shit. You look fine. I'm sure he'll be jerking off to thoughts of you' the message read.

Naruto didn't know whether to be relieved, laugh, or cringe at the crude words. He settled on a combination of all three choices. 

He opened up his messages to get to Sasuke's number and hit call.

He took a few deep breaths, suddenly very nervous.

He had never talked to Sasuke on the phone, and he was sure that the other alpha's voice would sound even hotter over the phone.

Naruto listened to the ringing of the phone until a familiar baritone picked up on the third ring.

"This is Sasuke" he said.

_Definitly even hotter over the phone._

"Uh, hi. It's Naruto. Karin said you wanted me to give you a call? Has there been a change of plans?" Naruto asked after a quick cough to cover the slight waiver in his voice.

He had a sudden creeping feeling of dread.

From what Naruto could hear, it almost sounded like Sasuke was on an airplane runway. There was a loud roaring engine and wind slamming into Sasuke's phone that could be heard.

It definitely sounded like he was still planning on going out of town.

"Somewhat. I was in a rush this morning and forgot to pack extra bottles and pajamas, I apologize" Sasuke said.

"Oh, well did you just want me to give Ren the formula we have here?" Naruto asked, still not fully relaxed.

He knew that Ren used a specific formula meant for sensitive stomachs, and the formula that the center provided was not the one that he used.

"You could, but he gets really fussy if he doesn't get the sensitive one. I don't want you to have to deal with that. I know that I have no right to ask so much of you, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to watch them at my place?" Sasuke asked.

_Oh!_

He could tell that Sasuke was really having a hard time asking for so many favors, but it made Naruto feel special. Like he was needed by offering to do something that was usually seen as a mate's responsibility. 

He liked feeling needed by Sasuke.

"Uh, yeah, sure. But how would I get into your house? And how would I get them there?" Naruto asked, trying to not sound as excited as he was.

He could practically hear his heart beating.

"I can call my building and let the doorman know the situation. The main office has a copy of my key, just give him your name and he'll let you in. I lef- Yeah, I'll be right there! I left Ren's car seat and the base when I dropped them off today, and Sarada will be fine just in the backseat. It's a short drive" Sasuke said as he was clearly being rushed by someone. 

"Alright. Sounds good. Just send me your address and I'll head over there after I'm done here for the day" Naruto said as he forced his voice to remain calm and even.

"Thank you Naruto, you really just saved my ass" Sasuke said as he let out a sigh of relief.

_Well, it is a rather nice ass. Definitely worthy of saving._

"Don't mention it" Naruto said casually.

He heard Sasuke talking to someone again, but this time the wind blocked out the voice so that Naruto couldn't hear it.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Sasuke said to whoever he had been speaking to.

"I have to go, but I'll let you know when I land back in town. It'll probably be around nine, nine thirty" he said.

"Sounds good, Sasuke. See you then" Naruto replied.

A few seconds later Sasuke ended the call and Naruto ran his hands over his face.

_Fuck._

-

Sasuke hadn't been kidding when he'd told Naruto that it was a short drive from the center to his building. 

Naruto honestly thought that he would have had more time to psych himself up before they pulled up to a ridiculously tall apartment building. 

He had no idea why he was freaking the fuck out. Sure, he thought that Sasuke was the definition of attractive, but it was just the guy's house!? And he wouldn't even be there with Naruto for more than a few minutes, if that.

Naruto was not some desperate, blushing virgin, and he was getting rather irritated that his body seemed to react like he was.

He had loaded up Sarada and Ren into his SUV, absolutely buzzing with excitement. 

He ignored his brief thought of how pathetic it seemed for him to be so excited from the simple act of loading kids into a car. Most people found it to be tedious, but to him it just fulfilled that maternal desire that he had, if only a little.

He sang the two songs that they got to listen to with Sarada as she told him about what she got to do in class in today and what she wanted to do when they got to her house.

It felt like how he imagined it would be picking up his own children from school, even if he never saw it panning out quite like this for him.

Even if he were to find an omega to mate with and have children with, he'd still be expected to be the one working while the omega got to pick up the kids and have this time with them.

"Naru? Are we gonna go inside? You promised I could help make dinner!" Sarada said excitedly from the backseat.

Naruto shot back to reality and realized that they'd been sitting in the parking garage for a few minutes now.

"Sorry about that, and of course you can help! Let's go get started!" Naruto said, only halfway out of his inner ramblings.

Naruto gathered the kids' backpacks and unlocked the carrier portion of Ren's carseat. 

He allowed Sarada to lead the way, following her to the elevator so that they could get to the main desk.

When the doors opened, Naruto almost couldn't believe his eyes.

He was by no means strapped for cash, but fuck was this place swanky.

It was all shiny black marble with gold accents.

Naruto felt incredibly out of place.

He gave the guy at the expansive front desk his name and showed him his ID and he quickly brought him Sasuke's spare key.

He followed Sarada through the lobby, shocked that she didn't seem the least bit impressed by the luxurious interior. 

Logically he knew that she saw this everyday and was undoubtedly used to it by now, but still. What four year old could ever get used to this!?

After the longest elevator ride of Naruto's life, literally, he found himself staring at a sleek, black door.

_Of course he lives on the top floor._

He only let the pleasing thought that Sasuke had to trust him an unusual amount, Naruto got the feeling that Sasuke didn't really do the whole trust thing easily, for only a fleeting moment before he unlocked the door and followed Sarada in.

_Of fuckung course._

Naruto had expected it to be a nice apartment, but this was just ridiculous.

It put every interior decorating show he'd ever seen to shame.

First of all, it was fucking huge, like unnecessarily so. 

The floors were all shiny, black tile and the walls were a warm taupe, save for the deep blue accent walls here and there.

It was surprisingly spotless for the home of two young children, and fairly minimalist in terms of decorating, yet very tasteful.

Everything was sleek and dark, but as Naruto took in the sight of the apartment as he made his way to the living area, he noticed a wall of glass shelves filled with various model airplanes. These weren't the kind you'd find at the local toy store either, they looked incredibly detailed.

They didn't fit with the overall asthetic of the house, but it somehow worked.

It all seemed very Sasuke.

Not to mention the scent that was bombarding him from every possible angle. It was as if that scent had been designed to cater specifically to Naruto.

He unknowing took a deep breath to calm himself, but just wound up getting a nose full of Sasuke's overwhelming and annoyingly alluring scent.

_I'm fucked._

He didn't see how he could possibly stay focused on taking care of the kids surrounded by all of _that_.

"Come on, Naru! I wanna show you my room!" Sarada said as she essentially dragged him towards the hallway, effectively distracting him.

-

Naruto had thoroughly enjoyed every second of his evening with the kids. 

He had played, colored, and danced to Sarada's content, and then made dinner with her.

They'd settled on spaghetti, and he was currently working on trying to return the dining area back to its former condition. 

Ren had somehow managed to get pasta sauce on every surface in sight, and while it had been undeniably cute, he very much doubted that Sasuke would appreciate noodles and maranara sauce crusted on to the glass of his kitchen cabinets.

Sarada had taken a shower after Naruto bathed Ren, and after only maybe twelve stories, they were both out for the night.

Naruto tried his best to not look at the digital clock on the stove, but his damn eyes kept wandering back to the glowing digits.

_Nine forty six._

He may or may not have spent an unusual amount of time assessing his appearance in the full length mirror in the bathroom after getting the kids down in anticipation of Sasuke's arrival.

Naruto had gotten all of the surfaces clean and had started on the plates and utensils they'd used to eat when he heard the sound of the front door's lock turning.

The blonde alpha tensed up and tried to act casual as he feigned disinterest. He continued ridding the plates of pasta sauce as he heard Sasuke enter the apartment, sounding like he was placing his things on a surface somewhere near the door.

Naruto waited for Sasuke to announce himself, not wanting to seem eager or anything, but had to wait longer than he'd expected.

Unbeknownst to the blonde, Sasuke had just been taken aback at the sight of him at his sink, looking so at ease and just like he... _belonged_?

In the few hours that Naruto had been in his home, his scent had mingled with his and created an alluring mixture. Sasuke felt the beginnings of a low, rumbling growl in his chest, but abruptly stopped.

Sasuke was confused as to what the hell was going on with him lately. He never remembered being all that effected by scents, not even omegas', so why the hell was an alpha's scent getting under his skin.

He might be a rather strong alpha, but he had never been quite so alpha like before.

He always easily managed to keep his instincts in check, but lately he'd found it less like second nature. He'd been having to remind himself to keep his composure more than he ever had before during the last month or so.

He felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation.

Sasuke was an Uchiha, which by default meant that he was always effortlessly cool, calm, and collected.

Sasuke caught his eyes roving appreciatively over Naruto's impressive physique.

During his marriage to Sakura, he had become accustomed to seeing a small, dainty figure in his home, but Naruto was all broad muscle.

His eyes traveled down Naruto's back all on their own and Sasuke had to remind himself to fucking breathe when he reached a perfectly sculpted ass being hugged by impossibly tight, black jeans.

The sound of a plate clinking against another one broke his trance. 

Sasuke shook his head and subconsciously wiped his hand over his mouth to make sure that he hadn't actually been drooling. 

"You didn't have to do the dishes" was all that Sasuke said, not really knowing where else to start, even if the Uchiha thought that it would've felt natural to go with, 'Honey, I'm home!'

The long pause after Sasuke's arrival had made Naruto jump the slightest bit when he finally heard that smooth, deep voice.

The blonde turned around to offer a smile, not realizing that it more or less knocked the wind out of the other alpha.

"Trust me, I definitely did. Ren left nothing unscathed" Naruto said as he turned around to show Sasuke the red streaks across the front of his white shirt.

_Shit, not helping!_

Sasuke had only seen Naruto in somewhat loose fitting clothes, and while he never suspected Naruto to be out of shape, he also hadn't expected for the blonde to be that _in_ shape.

"Sorry about that, since he has started on purees, he has developed an affinity for ruining clothes" Sasuke said with a tired sounding chuckle.

Naruto was used to seeing Sasuke in immaculate, expensive looking suits, but he hadn't been prepared to turn around and see Sasuke in just a dress shirt with the top few buttons undone and sleeves rolled up. To top it all off, his tie was hanging haphazardly, considerably looser than Naruto had ever seen, around Sasuke's neck.

Naruto could spot a matching jacket along the back of one of the dining room chai-

_Holy shit! He has tattoos!_

Not only was it hot as hell, but it was unexpected.

Now that Naruto could see Sasuke's forearms, he was able to see the colors and designs littering the surface of the left one. He couldn't make out any specific designs from where he stood, but from what he could tell, it looked to be Japanese in style.

The colorful ink disappeared under the rolled up cuff of Sasuke's shirt, making Naruto wonder if he had a full sleeve or not.

Naruto couldn't tell what he liked most about this new revelation; if it was just the fact that he found tattoos attractive, or if it was because this meant that Sasuke wasn't necessarily some uptight business man all the time.

"Not a big deal. I was in a hurry to be somewhere this morning and spaced on the fact that it'd be dumb to wear white in my line of work" Naruto said as he dried off the last plate and placed it on the others next to him.

Sasuke let out a huff of agreement and very pointedly kept his eyes well above Naruto's waist.

"Sarada wanted to make you dinner, there is a plate in the microwave for you, in case you didn't get the chance to eat" Naruto explained as he started on the few pieces of silverware in the sink.

"Thanks, I did not" Sasuke said, sounding only a tad bit awkward.

"Thank you, again. You really saved my ass today" Sasuke added on after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"You said that already, so I'll say this again. Its fine, I really don't mind" Naruto replied with a cheeky grin as he dried his hands off after finishing up on the dishes. He then reached up to the side to hit the start button on the microwave.

Its not that Sasuke wanted Naruto to leave per say, but he definitely wasn't all that comfortable with another person taking care of things like this for him.

Sure, Sakura had doted on him, annoyingly so, but there were obvious reasons for it. This was a man that Sasuke hardly knew, yet seemed to fit fairly well in his home, which unnerved the hell out of Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't particularly like anyone, he hadn't even been all that fond of his soon to be ex-wife, yet here he was, trying to think of a way to get the intriguing blonde to stay without being too obvious about it.

"Did the kids do alright?" Sasuke asked, figuring it was the most natural way to keep things flowing.

He would not consider himself to be the most graceful when it came time for socialization.

"They were great! Sarada even drew a picture for you" he answered, his smile about a thousand times brighter now.

Sasuke picked up on the change in Naruto's demeanor right away, he just seemed to come alive when he got to talk about kids.

Naruto started to make his way over to the sofa in the living room right as the microwave beeped. 

Sasuke grabbed the plate of food and grabbed a fork before joining Naruto in the living room.

The blonde alpha was ruffling through a small stack of papers littered with crayon.

Sasuke set his plate down on the coffee table and sat on the black couch, settling into the well missed comfort.

"Aha! Here it is!" Naruto said as he handed it over.

Sasuke took it with a slight smirk at how excited Naruto looked, you would've thought that he was the child.

Sasuke looked at it and allowed a fond smile to grace his face, a rare sight that was almost exclusively reserved for his children.

"I think she got your hair spot on" Naruto practically snickered.

Sure enough, down at the bottom were three stick figures, the tallest of which had long black bangs in the front of its face with wild spikes in the back.

"Its close" Sasuke said with a deep chuckle.

He'd like to think that his hair looked a little better than that, but he could tell it was supposed to be him.

It was Ren, Sarada, and Sasuke all holding hands with a jet in the sky leaving behind a heart shape in the contrails.

He had to admit that it was pretty damn cute.

"She told me the name of the plane, but I can't remember what it was" Naruto said, bringing Sasuke's attention back to the insanely blue eyes of the man that had taken a seat in the chair adjacent to him.

"Looks like an X Fifteen" Sasuke said as he inspected the distinct features she had managed to land pretty well, considering she was only four.

"Is she really that smart that she can draw them well enough for you to identify them?" Naruto asked.

He figured that model planes were Sasuke's hobby or something, and that was the reason why Sarada always drew them and knew so much about them.

"She is smart, but that one is easy to pick out. It's my favorite" Sasuke said offhandedly as he twirled some pasta around his fork.

"You have a favorite plane?" Naruto asked in a teasing tone.

Naruto had never met a plane hobbyist, and while he wasn't in any place to judge, it did still seem uncharacteristically quirky for the stoic man.

"Yeah?" Sasuke said, trying not to come off as irritated, something he knew he did. _A lot_.

Naruto just let out a good natured laugh, caught off gaurd by the Uchiha's tone. He made it seem like everyone knew enough about this shit to have a favorite airplane.

Normally Sasuke would not take too kindly to being laughed at, but something about the boisterous tone told him that Naruto wasn't laughing at his expense.

"And why is that your favorite plane?" He asked, looking genuinely interested.

Sasuke eyed him skeptically for a moment as he chewed his food.

He wasn't used to people being interested in this stuff, outside of his work. 

The few times he had actually tried to connect with Sakura over something that he was passionate about, she would just tell him that she couldn't understand anything that he was saying and then turn the conversation to whatever bullshit squabble she'd gotten into with her friends that day.

That is why Sasuke taught Sarada. Not only would it be nice to have someone to pass everything on to one day, but it was really the only way he had been able to connect with her.

He wasn't the 'make funny faces and sing to you' type of father, so this was his way of bonding with her.

"Its a jet" Sasuke corrected. "And because of its speed. Its the fastest one out there" he explained.

"So I take it you're the one that got Sarada into planes? She's always drawing different ones at school" Naruto said as he leaned back, looking more than comfortable, but still interested. 

Sasuke nodded as he finished another bite.

"So how'd you get into it?" Naruto asked, hoping that Sasuke wasn't seeing through his thinly veiled attempt at lingering.

"I make them" was Sasuke's simple answer.

He really wasn't one for prolonged conversations outside of business deals, and even though he wasn't contributing all that much, he did find himself enjoying Naruto's company.

It was nice to come home and not have the time be entirely silent or filled with pointless gossip.

"Like you made those?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the scaled models on the shelves.

Sasuke let out a chuckle.

"Sort of. Try about a hundred times bigger though" he said.

Sasuke had to hold back a snort at the confused look on the blonde's face. The man really couldn't hide his emotions at all, and he was clearly confused.

"I own a company that designs and builds airplanes" Sasuke supplied, though he did have to admit that he found the puzzled look on the other's face rather endearing.

"Oh, thats awesome!" Naruto said, clearly impressed.

When he told people what he did they were usually surprised and then uninterested, especially people that Naruto had been interested in, in the past. Not many male alphas got excited when it came to talking about child care, but Naruto doubted that Sasuke ran into that problem.

With a career like his, it had to be easy to keep someone interested when it came time to talk about what he did. Naruto didn't know if he was envious of it or admired it.

"I like it" Sasuke said with a shrug but a curious smirk on his face. It almost looked like the beginnings of a soft smile, and his eyes didn't hold that bored look that they usually did when he would speak to Karin or Ino in the mornings. 

"I thought you were just one of those guys who holed himself up in his basement making model airplanes all night" Naruto teased as he gestured to the wall of airplanes once more.

Sasuke let out an amused huff. 

"Not quite. Those are just scaled models from my work. The wall looked blank, so I brought them here" Sasuke replied as he brought his fork to his mouth again.

"You have an issue with sparsness?" Naruto asked as he looked around with his brows raised.

Sure, the apartment was tastefully decorated, but there was more blank space on one wall than Naruto had in his whole house.

"You don't like my decorating?" Sasuke said, feigning a challenging tone.

"Never said that, just that it surprised me to hear that you'd think anything needed 'more'. I gotta say though, I expected more pink" Naruto said with a chuckle.

When Sasuke didn't respond right away Naruto panicked for a second.

He had no idea what had gone down between Sasuke and Sakura, and even though Sasuke didn't really seem to care much about his impending divorce, Naruto wasn't one hundred percent sure that that was actually the case.

Sasuke didn't seem bothered by much of anything, expect for not being in control, but the key word there was _seem_.

For all Naruto knew, it was a sore spot for Sasuke and making jokes about his almost ex-wife was not alright.

"I redecorated two weeks ago" Sasuke finally said, putting Naruto out of his misery.

Sasuke hadn't been irritated or anything, he was just weighing his options. He and Naruto's relationship should be professional, but as the weeks went by, it seemed to be getting more and more personal, something that Sasuke wasn't entirely comfortable with.

He might actually be comfortable with it, but he wasn't uncomfortable with what that might mean, which did make him uncomfortable.

It was basically just one big cluster fuck off confusion for the Uchiha.

Naruto looked a little on edge, not as relaxed as he was before, and his scent had gotten the slightest bit sour, indicating that he was anxious.

Sasuke wanted to make him comfortable again so that they could continue talking.

"But you're not wrong. She had it all white, gray, and pink. She insisted that it was mauve everytime I brought up how much I hated it, but it was fucking pink" Sasuke said with a grimace at the reminder if his former interior decorating.

"Sounds about like what I pictured" Naruro said with a laugh.

It made sense, every time he'd seen Sakura she was wearing mostly white or pink and it was always overly girly. She basically seemed like the exact opposite of Sasuke, so much so that Naruto wondered how they'd wound up married with children.

"It was awful. She called it cottage core or some shit like that to try and convince me it wasn't just her frilly taste" Sasuke said as he started to fully undo his tie, Naruto's eyes following the motion.

The blonde alpha unconsciously licked his lips at the sight of Sasuke's fingers loosening the knot like it was second nature.

Sasuke didn't think anything of the simple action, it was his house after all and he'd been in a suit since six in the morning.

"Well you managed to get all traces of anything 'frilly' out of here" Naruto said with a smile, trying to recover from his slight slip.

He hadn't been lying. Even Sarada's room was rather ungirly in terms of a standard four year old little girl. It had a dark red wall and had a beautifully done mural of airplanes flying with various model planes lining the shelves, and black furniture.

It was fairly similar to the decor of the rest of the house that Naruto had seen.

"I kept all of my stuff from before she moved in, in a storage unit. Thankfully it was a quick fix with some movers and paint" Sasuke said as he stretched his neck to each side, a loud cracking sound resulting from the action.

Naruto couldn't help it, it was like his eyes just moved of their own volition. His eyes darted down to the junction of Sasuke's neck in both sides.

He was shocked to see yhe beginnings of more tattoos on the left side, but even more surprised to see that both sides were devoid of a mark.

Sakura had practically shown hers off any chance that she got, wearing low cut shirts with wide necks so that it would proudly be on display, but with a mate like Sasuke, Naruto understood her wanting to boast.

His lack of a mark and the fact that he kept all of his old furniture just made Naruto feel kind of bad for Sakura.

As much as he was jealous of her in some aspects, he couldn't help but pity the woman. It seemed like Sasuke had pretty much never planned on their marriage being permanent.

What other reason would the man have for holding on to all of his old things and not bearing her mark?

Naruto knew that he didn't know the whole story, but it'd have to hurt knowing that your mate always had an expiration date in mind.

Plus, he had entirely erased his mate's existence from their previously shared home in a matter of weeks. Naruto hadn't seen a single photo of Sakura, not even one of her with Sarada or Ren.

It kind of made Naruto see Sasuke in a new light. 

_Maybe he is as much of a dick as he comes off as?_

It was a rather big turn off for Naruto, and he suddenly had some hope that he'd be able to shake the hold that Sasuke had on him.

But then Sasuke put his arms out behind himself and stretched them, causing his dress shirt to tighten against his clearly defined chest.

_Nevermind!_

Naruto was getting flustered, and really tried to control his thoughts about what Sasuke would look like shirtless, but when he could practically see every line of lean muscle, it wasn't like he had to try all that hard to fill in the blanks.

The last thing that he wanted to do was to have his scent start to change. If Sasuke picked up on it, he'd be completely mortified.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your night" Naruto said, sounding rather jumpy as he frantically stood up.

Sasuke regarded him skeptically, not really wanting Naruto to leave just yet. He wanted to tell the other man to stay, but his pride would be having none of that.

"Are you sure that you won't accept payment for tonight?" Sasuke asked as he stood up as well and wiped at the corner of his mouth with his thumb.

Something that Naruto didn't find incredibly sexy. No, not at all.

"Yeah, I already told you, its fine. I like spending time with Sarada and Ren" Naruto said for the thousandth time since he'd offered to watch the kids tonight. 

"Alright, just checking. Thank you again for tonight" Sasuke said as he started following Naruto towards the door.

Naruto wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. 

With Sasuke acting so casually around him, and all of the new revelations about the alpha, Naruto had become painfully aware of the scent surrounding him, causing him to be painfully aware of something else.

He was hard as hell and pressing into the zipper of his jeans, and they were too tight to do anything to hide it.

He knew that Sasuke would be picking up on his scent soon enough, if he hadn't already.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief when he entered the hallway and was hit with its neutral scent, but sucked it right back in when Sasuke closed the door behind himself and stepped outside too.

Naruto looked at him questionably, hoping that he didn't look as desperate to get away from Sasuke as he felt.

"I need to get Ren's carseat? I figured I could just put it right in my car" Sasuke said as he held up his keys to prove his intentions.

_Welp, I'm fucked!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that we have gotten a fair amount of background established, things will be picking up shortly!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and I love hearing from you guys, whether it's suggestions or predictions!(:


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally getting started!

Maneuvering himself so that Sasuke wouldn't be able to take notice of the very obvious boner that he was sporting proved to be a rather difficult task for Naruto.

Sasuke had noticed his awkward and quick movements while he undid the clips on Ren's carseat, practically tossing it into Sasuke's backseat.

Sasuke had been concerned that he'd done something to upset the blonde.

Sasuke knew that to most people he came off as a royal prick, even though he didn't mean to most of the time.

He didn't even realize that he was being a dick, it was like second nature to him, so maybe he had done something to warrant Naruto wanting to avoid him like a leper.

Sasuke had thanked Naruto one last time and extended his hand, kind of like a peace offering to show that he really did respect the man.

Naruto quickly returned the handshake, realizing that he had lingered too close to Sasuke for too long when Sasuke's grip on his hand tightened briefly.

Sasuke had his eyebrow raised the slightest bit, as if asking Naruto if his nose was deceiving him.

_God damnit!_

Naruto tried to play it off with a chuckle that sounded fairly uncomfortable, but he knew that Sasuke knew.

Sasuke had squared his shoulders, making Naruto worry that he had offended the proud man, and that dread only intensified when Sasuke didn't speak right away. 

"Thank you, again" Sasuke eventually said, his voice sounding even lower than it usually did.

"Not a problem. I'll see you on Monday" Naruto said, quickly dropping his grip on Sasuke's hand and climbing into his car, doing everything he could to avoid eye contact.

Thinking back on it, Naruto was sure he'd turned his head, subconsciously baring his neck at the sudden alpha display from the Uchiha.

Sasuke had gone all alpha on him to warn him to back the hell off, and Naruto was thoroughly embarrassed.

He doubted that the man would respect him when he'd basically acted like an omega in the presence of something as simple as an alpha tone, most alphas just give it right back.

Not that embarrassment was anything new to Naruto, he was a big goof, so he was used to the occasional embarrassment, but he didn't know if he could handle _this_ kind of embarrassment again.

-

Sasuke had been beyond conflicted after Naruto had left.

When he'd picked up on the sweeter quality to Naruto's scent in the garage, he knew damn well what it'd meant, and he didn't hate it.

Quite the opposet.

He full on scented Naruto, manners be damned, and had to suppress a groan at the manly scent. 

He was used to a god awful, overly sweet perfume like scent, but Naruto's was so much more appealing to him, and it really shouldn't be.

Sasuke had realized after the fact, that him trying to hold in an obscene groan had made his voice sound much lower than intended, almost like he was using his alpha tone.

He had fully expected to need to apologize to avoid Naruto getting offended and puffing his chest, but he did no such thing.

_He bared his fucking neck._

It was the oddest, yet hottest thing to Sasuke.

He had literally never seen an alpha bare his neck to another alpha in all of his twenty seven years of life. It was fairly omega like, which just peaked his interest in the unusual alpha even more. 

He was somewhat relieved that Naruto had left in a hurry, he wasn't all that confident in his restraint when the man was letting off a scent like that.

The Uchiha needed a minute to get his shit together and process everything.

He had no idea what to make of his sudden and very apparent attraction to the blonde alpha.

It was confusing and messy enough to find that he wanted to fuck another alpha, but it wasn't just that. He was drawn to him in a way that he'd never been drawn to another person before. More than just lust.

_Fuck, I want my kids' teacher. How cliche can ya get?_

-

Naruto had been prepared to dodge Sasuke as much as possible when he walked in to the care center thirty minutes late with the excuse of oversleeping everyday of the week following the embarrassing parking garage incident. He had even busied himself with working in any area but the front of the facility any time after five.

Sasuke no longer needed help with the kids after hours, so he thought he would be safe.

He was the boss after all, he could get away with shit like that, and he never gave the teachers much grief when they were late on occasion, so everyone just let it slide.

Well, everyone except Karin.

"Your husband was looking for you" she said when he walked into his office on Friday to find her sitting in his chair, absent-mindedly fucking up the placement of the things on his desk.

"Shame I wasn't invited to the wedding" he said as he sat on the couch and sighed. 

"What's going on between you two?" Karin asked, characteristically suspicious and nosey.

"He pays me, I let his kids come here" Naruto answered with a raise brow like it was obvious.

He pulled it off pretty well, considering he usually couldn't get anything past his sister, but she seemed to buy it. For now.

"Well, either you're lying or he is secretly in love with you" she said.

"Yeah? Why is that?" Naruto asked dryly.

He knew that Karin was just giving him shit, like always, but the pull that Sasuke had on him made his chest constrict when Karin would say shit like that.

"He just cut us a twenty thousand dollar check" she answered as she held up said check that was slotted between two of her fingers.

Naruto's jaw definitely hit the floor.

"You're joking" Naruto said as he snatched the check to make sure that she wasn't just messing with him.

"Looks like you went and found yourself a sugar daddy. And he's not even decrepit. You lucky dog" she said as she stood up to get back to her classroom.

"He said it was for helping him out Friday. Ya'know, that day that you weren't all dressed up or anything" she said with a smirk as she walked out.

Naruto didn't even try to defend his pride, too dumbstruck at the amount written out in neat ink.

Throughout the whole day he would stop and examine the check, as if walking away would have somehow changed the amount.

Its not that the center was strapped for cash or anything like that, but he always loved to help out parents whenever he could, specifically single, omega parents.

It was normally difficult for an omega to land themselves a high paying job, seeing as how society deemed them more fit for staying home with a pile of children, and the daycare centers that most could afford were not necessarily the most trustworthy.

Naruto took a pay cut specifically to ensure that they had an allotment for scholarships for a few single parents that couldn't afford the tuition.

A very sweet omega had come in just last week to ask about a tour of the facility, and when his face had fallen when Naruto went over the cost, the alpha got to talking about his situation.

He had a decent job, but with him being a single parent to a three year old, he just couldn't afford a place like Rasengan.

His son had gotten a pretty nasty injury at his current daycare, and he suspected that it wouldn't have happened if he'd been watched properly. 

Naruto felt for the omega, understanding why he was searching for childcare in nicer places to see what his options might be.

He had apologized for 'wasting' Naruto's time, but Naruto would have none of it. 

They had already used up the available scholarships for the year, but he wanted to see what he could do, and this check would definitely be the solution, but Naruto was still weary about accepting it.

He had been mulling it over when someone knocked on his door.

Naruto shot his head up and was surprised to see Sasuke leaning on the doorframe with all of the charisma in the world.

Naruto took notice of the time.

It was a little after five thirty, much earlier than Sasuke usually picked up Sarada and Ren.

"I just wanted to check and see if you got the donation I left?" Sasuke asked.

The laugh of disbelief that the red head had let out when he handed her the check made him worry that she might think he was joking and just toss it in the bin.

"Yeah, I did. Sasuke, you don't ha-" Naruto started, but he was cut off by a deep chuckle.

Naruto was pretty sure that he stopped breathing entirely when he saw that Sasuke was smiling. 

Like actually _smiling_. It was small, but it was there, and it was directed at Naruto.

Something about that just made him buzz with excitement.

Knowing that Sasuke barely ever smiled, but was smiling at him, even if it was more of a smirk than anything, made him feel stupidly special.

"Would you just take it? Sarada and Ren love it here, and you have really helped me out lately. If _you_ won't take anything from me, you could at least use it for the center" Sasuke said with a shrug as he pushed his shoulder off of the doorframe.

"Thank you, Sasuke" Naruto said with a blush as the Uchiha smirked at him.

Sasuke loved figuring out how to get his way, as sociopathic as that sounds, but most business men did.

In his line of work he has had to use every strategy in the book to land deals at the best rates possible, and to do that, he needed to know just how to get people to agree to his terms.

Sasuke didn't like feeling indebted to anyone, especially Naruto, for reasons that he chose to ignore, but the man just wouldn't accept any payment!

Sasuke had offered on multiple occasions, but after Friday, he just wasn't willing to take 'It's really not a problem' as an answer. 

In the short amount of time that he'd known Naruto, he'd figured out just how much he loved his work.

If he, personally, wouldn't accept payment, Sasuke knew there was no way that he'd turn down that kind of money for the center.

It was kind of underhanded, but it got the job done.

Sasuke had been raised to view needing any kind of help as weak, and all Naruto did was help him lately.

Sasuke did not want Naruto viewing him as weak.

Now they were even.

Sasuke just nodded, satisfied that Naruto would be taking the check, and headed off to gather his children.

As soon as Sasuke was behind the door, after Naruto had gotten his fill of watching his toned ass in unnecessarily fitting slacks, the blonde rooted around his desk for the sticky note he had kept.

He found it in the chaos that was his workspace and smiled the entire time that he dialed the number and listened to the dial tone.

"Hello?" came the voice.

Naruto took a second to remind himself that the male omega had sounded just as femine as he looked, being shocked at first that a woman seemed to be answering the phone. 

"Hi, Haku. Its Naruto from Rasengan. I just wanted to give you a call and let you know that we've figured something out and your son can start attending as soon as we get him all registered".

-

_Fuck, fuck, fuck! How did I let myself get in this position, again!?_

Naruto was having just a slight break down as he pulled into the prestine parking garage of Sasuke's apartment building.

He knew exactly how he got here, he just couldn't believe that he had actually agreed!

He hadn't been able to talk to Haku all that long since the omega had been finishing up his work day, but he had been so thankful.

Naruto barely hung up the phone when there was suddenly big, brown, almost black eyes, starting at him.

He almost had a heart attack at Sarada's sudden and quite stealthy appearance.

"Are you coming over again, Naru?" She had asked with puppy dog eyes that could break even the strongest of men.

It took Naruto a few seconds to realize what the hell she was talking about, but when he did, he had no idea how he was going to get out of it.

He hoped that Sasuke would bail him out, but apparently the universe loved to see the Uzumaki suffer, because all he did was smirk.

One of the last things that he wanted to do was be surrounded by Sasuke's scent again, especially with said alpha actually there. 

If he hadn't been able to last a half an hour around the man without embarrassing the hell out of himself, how was he supposed to make it through multiple hours!?

Buuut, the very last thing that he wanted to do was disappoint Sarada.

Naruto was aware that it might be misconstrued as creepy, but he felt a bond with the young Uchiha.

Out of all of the kids at the center, she was the one that he actually talked to the most, and as of late, he's taken care of her and been there for her alot.

He knew that it was most likely due to his desire to have children, but he viewed her as more than just one of his students.

He wasn't delusional enough to think of himself as some kind of mother figure for Sarada, but he did see himself as a caregiver of sorts.

"I'm sure your dad has had a long week at work and doesn't want me and you tearing up his house with more arts and crafts" Naruto said in his best 'daycare teacher' voice.

"Nu uh! Daddy said he thinks you're pretty! That means its okay! Right, daddy?" Sarada said, fully convinced in her argument.

Naruto knew there was no hope in hiding his blush, his face felt at least twenty degrees warmer than it had a few seconds ago.

The blonde coughed a little to cover up the rather unmasculine shocked sound that wanted to escape at hearing _that_.

Sure he had heard those words come directly out of Sasuke's mouth, but Sasuke hadn't known that.

Now he had to deal with the way hearing that made him feel while Sasuke stood less than ten feet away from him!?

Naruto looked up to see if Sasuke was as frazzled as he was, but of course the man was as calm as ever. Stone faced as he idly rocked Ren's carseat to keep the infant docile.

Naruto could swear that he saw the faintest tint of pink on the other alpha's impossibly pale face, but it was so scarce that it could've just been his eyes playing tricks on him.

"You're more than welcome. She has been wanting spaghetti since last Friday, but apparently I can't make it right" Sasuke said, his bored tone sounding the slightest bit forced.

"Oh, um, yeah. Alright, then. I have some stuff to finish up here but I can probably be there by like six thirty?" Naruto said, half hoping that Sasuke would say that he was joking, though Naruto had a suspicion that Sasuke didn't joke often.

He _really_ wanted to go because hello, Sasuke, but he also really didn't want to go. He doubted that he could reign in his current obsession with the other alpha long enough to leave with his dignity still intact.

But against his better judgment, here he was, ringing the doorbell to Sasuke's penthouse as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other to ease his nerves.

It didn't work.

"Naru! Naru! Naru! Daddy, Narus here!" Naruto could hear Sarada's squealing, and it warmed his heart enough to make him temporarily forget his panic.

"I know, Sarada, but I can't let him in if you don't move" Sasuke said, the low tone of his voice bringing Naruto's panic right back.

He didn't want to do anything to embarrass himself again, but he also didn't want to do anything that caused Sasuke to pull the kids from the school.

And having another alpha confess to wanting to sleep with him would probably offend him and have him do just that.

_He's just some guy. Just a normal guy._

Naruto repeated his internal mantra as many times as possible to try and convince himself that it was true, before the door was unlocked and opened.

_Is this death? Is this what death feels like?_

Naruto literally had to remind himself to breath to appear somewhat socially competent when he saw Sasuke.

There was no stuffy, perfectly tailored suit in sight. 

He was in black joggers and a tight, black t-shirt. His hair was tied back in a small ponytail that should have been ridiculous, but only managed to show off even more of Sasuke's stupidly pretty face.

Naruto thought that seeing Sasuke in suits was drool worthy, but seeing him looking so casual was definitely something that was capable of being his undoing. 

It just seemed so personal. Naruto doubted that many people got to see Sasuke out of a suit.

Naruto could definitely see that Sasuke did infact have a full sleeve on his left arm, and the beginnings of a half sleeve on the upper half of his right arm.

"You okay, Naru?" Sarada asked as she pulled on the bottom of his shirt to break him out of his painfully obvious bout of staring.

"We went to the store and bought everything! Can I help make the spesghetti again?" She asked energetically as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the apartment, Sasuke's scent slamming right into him.

Thankfully, Sarada's excitement gave him the perfect opportunity to avoid awkwardly recovering and greeting the object of his lust.

He jumped right into 'Mommy Mode' as Ino called it, and allowed her to drag him to the kitchen.

"Only if your dad says its okay" Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke as a form of hello.

He averted his eyes as soon as he saw the familiar curling of Sasuke's lips, not wanting to submit himself to the torture of seeing Sasuke looking like _that_ while he wore that alluring smirk.

"Sounds like a plan. It'll be good for me to watch and learn, I suppose" Sasuke said as he went to retrieve Ren from his bouncer in the living room.

"Daddy doesn't know how to make it right" she 'whispered' to Naruto as she pulled her step stool up to the counter.

Naruto just let out a snicker at the fact that Mister Perfect lacked a skill after all, and Sarada joined him in laughing until Sasuke approached them.

"I heard that" he deadpanned as he sat Ren down on the dinning room table. He sat in the chair in front of his son to hold him in place.

Naruto and Sarada instantly stopped at the very unamused tone, but when they heard a small huff that could almost be considered a laugh, they started up again.

Then the two chefs got to work just like they had done a week ago.

Naruto welcomed the distraction, but that didn't mean that he didn't steal a glance at Sasuke every now and then.

He had moved Ren into the living room when he started fussing.

Sasuke was sitting on the floor with his legs spread and Ren sitting in between them.

It was weird to see that he was actually human. Even when it was obvious that he didn't have everything under control when he'd first taken on Sarada and Ren's care by himself, he'd still put on a rather convincing front.

But now Naruto saw that he was just a normal guy. Just a really hot, really wealthy, normal guy.

He had been reading one of Ren's books to the infant. Naruto could hear enough of Sasuke's voice to figure out that it must have been one to teach babies colors.

He had read off the colors in such a monotone way that Naruto wouldn't have believed that he was actually reading to a baby if he hadn't peaked behind him to see Ren.

Sasuke clearly wasn't one for baby talk, but he obviously cared deeply for his children.

Naruto helped Sarada cook the meat for the sauce and took another look at Sasuke and Ren. He couldn't help the dopey smile from stretching across his face.

_Is this what having a family of your own feels like?_

Everything about this situation screamed domesticity and comfortably, but Naruto knew that it was temporary, like only a few hours kind of temporary.

He ignored the pang of sadness that shot through him at the thought of eventually having to head home to an empty house in favor of just enjoying playing house for the time being.

He and Sarada finished not too long after, and soon they were all set up at the dinner table.

Dinner had been relatively uneventful, save for Ren's impressive aim.

When everyone was done, Naruto figured that was his que to exit, he didn't want to overstay his welcome, but Sarada would just not allow it.

She begged with those puppy dog eyes for him to stay and read her bedtime stories. When Naruto had looked to Sasuke for any sign of that not being okay, and saw nothing of the sort, he promised he'd stay until she fell asleep.

When she had gotten out of the shower and came bounding out into the kitchen where Naruto was cleaning the dishes as Sasuke bathed Ren, his heart almost exploded.

She was in her pajamas and clutching a blanket and a book. 

It was unfairly adorable and did nothing to help with that nagging voice wishing for the impossible.

This was probably as close to experiencing being a parent that he would ever get.

"I brushed my teeths, will you read to me now, Naru?" She asked.

"How about we brush your hair first?" He said with chuckle at the mess that was her hair.

She had pinstriaght, thick hair like Sasuke, but Naruto was aware of how surprisingly difficult that it was to manage. He'd had to redo her ponytails at school a few times.

That is how Naruto wound up on the couch with Sarada sitting criss cross on the floor between his knees as he french braided her hair so that it would dry nicely.

Sasuke walked out with a freshly cleaned Ren half passed out on his shoulder to the sight.

He stood in the hallway for a moment to watch.

He'd seen Sakura do Sarada's hair multiple times, but never like this. She always treated it like such a tedious chore, but Naruto seemed to be happy to do it.

Sasuke couldn't ever recall a time he'd seen his ex wife look at their children with that much adoration.

And Sarada was so at ease, something she never was around Sakura. It was nice to see his daughter finally having that kind of a connection,

"You know how to braid hair?" Sasuke asked, finally making his presence known.

"When parents send their kids to school on picture day with braids and they manage to mess them up before its their turn, you pick it up quickly" Naruto chuckled.

Sasuke just raised a perfectly arched brow and sat down next to them, having laid Ren down in the pack and play to finish falling asleep.

He was watching so intently that Naruto picked up on it almost right away.

"Did you want me to teach you?" Naruto asked.

As a newly single father, Naruto doubted that Sasuke knew how to do much more than a basic ponytail.

"Yeah, that'd be great" Sasuke said, only sounding halfway to uncomfortable at admitting to needing help once more.

So Naruto showed him.

He undid the braid he was halfway done with and showed Sasuke the steps and explained, then let Sasuke try on the other side.

Naruto only laughed a little bit at the rather pathetic excuse of a french braid, which earned him a displeased huff from the moody alpha.

Sasuke was a perfectionist, so he undid it and gave it another go, and another one, and another one, and another one.

By his fifth try, it honestly wasn't half bad, definitly passable.

Sarada had gotten so tired from sitting there for so long that she fell asleep on his shoulder while Naruto carried her to her room to read her the stories he'd promised.

She stirred lightly when he laid her down and brought her blanket over her.

He damn near cried when she sleepily mumbled, "Night, Naru. Love you" before she rolled over and went back to sleep.

It just all started to feel too real to Naruto. 

This wasn't his family, this was one of his client's family. He had no right to feel like he belonged, even if he desperately did want to belong.

That night Naruto stayed to talk to Sasuke for only a few minutes, giving him some bullshit about needing to be up early the next morning.

The blonde alpha just felt off. He knew he was just kidding himself by playing house with Sasuke, and it was probably creepy too when he was sure the other alpha just saw it as a developing friendship, at most.

But sure enough, every Friday for the next five weeks, Sarada would stop by his office before leaving to ask if Naruto was coming over so they could make 'spesghetti' again.

Every Friday Naruto said yes.

He had been staying later and later after the kids fell asleep to talk with Sasuke.

Naruto still didn't know much about the man, he was barely a step away from being a mute, but Naruto still found himself enjoying Sasuke's company.

Probably a little too much.

-

"What's got your panties all in a bunch? Boyfriend troubles?" Karin teased as she saw Naruto glaring at the innocent wall in his office.

"Not in the mood" was all he said, not even bothering to look his sister's way.

"Woah, I was just giving you shit. Seriously, what happened?" She asked.

Normally Naruto was worse than the kids in terms of energy, but now he seemed more like Tsunade with his never ending scowl.

"I said I'm fine, Karin" Naruto said through his teeth. 

He was slightly less than fine.

The last few days this week, Haku and Sasuke had dropped of their kids pretty much at the same time, and would stick around out front to talk for a little each day, which irked Naruto enough.

This morning Naruto had heard something that he really wished that he hadn't.

Its not like he had been eavesdropping or anything, he just so happened to be walking by when Sasuke had gotten Haku's number and said that they'd 'get together soon'. 

Naruto felt stupid and helpless.

He felt stupid because there was no real reason why he should be this upset about Sasuke asking for an omega's number; its not like he was in a relationship with they guy.

He felt helpless because of course Sasuke would want to get Haku's number.

Haku was probably one of the prettiest omegas that Naruto had ever seen. He could be the perfect mate for Sasuke, could give him everything that Naruto couldn't.

Naruto should be happy for Sasuke. He would definitely consider Sasuke a friend at this point, and he should be happy that Sasuke had found someone he was interested in, but he wasn't. Like at all.

He was dejected at the thought of Sasuke hitting on anyone but him. Something that friends definitely didn't do.

It had literally been bugging him all day. He didn't even make his usual rounds to the classrooms. He just stayed in his office and wallowed in his own self pity all day.

He was just counting down the minutes until it was closing time so that he could spend his weekend wrapped in his favorite blanket while drowning his sarrows, preferably with tequila.

Thankfully his sister only pried a minimal amount before dropping it, knowing that if it was really serious that he would come to her in a heartbeat.

Naruto was almost home free, but then Sarada walked in to his office.

"You coming over, Naru?" She asked sweetly, knowing just how to get him to cave now.

Naruto took notice of the immaculate braids in her hair, and while normally the thought of Sasuke trying to use those small hair ties with his big ass hands would make him smile, he just wasn't in the mood.

"Fraid not, Sarada" Naruro answered gently.

"Please, Naru! Last week you promised me you'd read me more stories tonight!" She said with a very Sasuke-esqu huff.

Sasuke raised his brow, picking up on Naruto's less than boisterous demeanor. He could smell the same scent that had been driving him mad the last few weeks, but it had a darker quality to it now. 

_Naruto is actually capable of feeling anger?_

Sasuke honestly didn't think it was possible for Naruto to be anything but cheery.

"Naruto seems busy Sarada, he can't come over every Friday forever" Sasuke said, controlling his disappointment.

He liked Naruto. He made things fun, and Sasuke hadn't been able to use the word fun to describe anything in his life ever.

Sasuke used to dread coming home when he was with Sakura, so he'd always stay at the office as late as possible and just home to sleep.

When they'd split, he no longer dreaded coming home, but he wouldn't say he had all that much fun.

He enjoyed getting to spend time with his children, but it wasn't the most exciting routine. 

He'd cook, they'd eat, he'd make sure they bathed and got ready for bed, then that was it. Every night.

Except for the last couple of Friday nights.

Naruto made the most simple tasks exciting, and Sasuke didn't hate talking to him, he actually kind of enjoyed it.

Sure, he was growing more and more attracted to the blonde alpha, but he was anything but rash, so he was playing the slow game in figuring out the best way to go about it.

Sasuke might not give a shit about Naruto's secondary gender, but that didn't mean that Naruto wouldn't care about his.

Most alphas made fools of themselves to prove how alpha they were, and while Naruto wasn"t that way, Sasuke still doubted that he'd be willing to take it up the ass.

He was fairly certain the attraction wasn't one sided, it was pretty obvious actually, but that didn't mean that it would be smart to do anything about it.

Sasuke didn't want to do anything to jeopardize Sarada and Ren's daily routine, and they absolutely loved Naruto. If Sasuke made a move on Naruto before he was sure, it could fuck everything up.

It would devastate Sarada if she wouldn't be able to see Naruto anymore. He had shown her the closest thing to motherly love that she'd ever known. 

Sasuke wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he was the reason why she lost that.

"Are you mad at me, Naru?" Sarada asked, looking a few seconds away from crying. 

_God damnit, this kid has me wrapped around her finger._

"Of course not, Sarada" he said, putting on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Besides, I could never be mad at my favorite student" he added as a whisper.

She instantly perked up at that.

"Does that mean you'll come over!?" She practically yelled.

Naruto prayed that Karin wasn't within ear shot. He'd never hear the end of it if she found out he'd been having dinner at Sasuke's every Friday for over a month.

"Alright, fine. You know I can't say no to you" Naruto sighed out with a fond smile.

"I'll leave the door unlocked for you" Sasuke said with a satisfied smirk as he grabbed Sarada's hand to lead her out.

-

"I made the salad, daddy!" Sarada cheered as she watched Sasuke finish his food.

Naruto chuckled. By made she meant that Naruto let her put all of the ingredients he'd chopped up into the bowl.

"Its very good. I'm impressed" Sasuke said as he set his fork down.

Dinner had been unusually quiet. Naruto reserved any and all of his talking for Sarada, and even the four year old had picked up on Naruto giving Sasuke the cold shoulder.

"Did you and daddy fight this morning?" Sarada asked innocently with her head cocked to the side.

Naruto was embarrassed that he was being obvious enough for a child to figure out that he wasn't all that big of a fan of Sasuke at the moment.

But he was confused as to why she'd think that they got into a fight this morning.

Apparently Sasuke was too. He had his brow arched in confusion, which made Sarada continue.

"I left my hairbrush in daddy's room, so I wents and got it this morning, but I heard him talking to you on the phone. He said your name, Naru. Did you guys fight?" She asked, looking genuinely concerned.

"When you were taking a shower?" She explained further.

_What the fuck is she talking about? I wasn't on the phone with Naruto this mor- OH FUCK!_

Sasuke had been showering this morning, and thought about getting to have Naruto over for dinner when his thoughts took on a life of their own.

He had been 'taking care of bussiness' when the seemingly forbidden blonde popped into his mind and before he knew it, he was cumming into his hand with Naruto's name on his lips.

Sarada must have heard Sasuke from his connected bedroom.

When realization dawned on Sasuke, he was too mortified to even make an attempt at playing it cool.

He choked on nothing and his face felt like it was about as red as the wine he and Naruto were drinking.

Apparently Naruto could put two and two together, because he took in a sharp breath as his eyes went comically wide.

"Uh, its fine Sarada. We- um, we made up" Naruto sputtered out, looking everywhere but Sasuke.

He really hoped that just playing along would make her drop the topic. Naruto was embarrassed, happy, turned on, and frankly, still a little pissed off.

But thankfully, Naruto's quick thinking was enough to appease the curious four year old.

After an uncomfortable amount of avoided eye contact, Naruto was reading Sarada her owed bedtime stories.

Naruto was kind of hoping that when he went back out into the living room that Sasuke wouldn't be there so he could make a quick getaway.

He only hid in the hallway for slightly longer than what most would deem necessary, but when he walked out, he realized that he just wouldn't get out of here without more awkward avoidance.

"I'm sorry" Sasuke said as he stood at the kitchen counter, drinking something that looked much harder than wine.

_So just jumping right into it, I guess._

Naruto supposed this had to be better than just avoiding the situation all together.

"For what Sarada said earlier. I apologize" Sasuke elaborated as he took Naruto's pause for confusion.

Sasuke didn't look embarrassed anymore, just stressed the hell out.

The Uchiha was torn. Now that his secret was out in the open, he was more than tempted to just say 'fuck it', but then there was the guilt that he'd feel if things didn't work out and Sarada wound up hurt.

Sasuke wasn't entirly sure if he wanted a full fledged relationship or not. He had just gotten out of a terrible marriage, and he'd never really wanted to date anyone before. Anyone except for Naruto, apparently.

Naruto was suddenly angry, very angry. Angry and frustrated. 

Why the hell was Sasuke messing with him like this? He wasn't even divorced yet, was clearly pursuing Haku, _and_ apparently fantasizing about Naruto. 

Naruto ignored the shot of arousal at that last bit, but still, he was pissed.

Sure, Sasuke didn't seem to be the friendliest of guys, but he had seemed nice enough and with good morals. Naruto couldn't stand players that just used people for their satisfaction only to cast them to the side when they were done. 

It upset Naruto even further to think that Sasuke seemed to be turning out just like that.

He felt stupid. He'd went and fallen for a total jerk. He wasn't in love or anything, but still, he'd started to think he could finally have a slim chance at actual happiness.

Naruto didn't say anything when he approached Sasuke, just picked up his glass and downed the rest of it, even more irritated that it was scotch.

Naruto was not a typical alpha; he didn't like confrontation, but he also wasn't a pussy. He did know how to stand up for himself.

"What the fuck, Sasuke?" Naruto bit out, not getting in the other alpha's face persay, but definitely not maintaining a respectful distance either.

He needed this to be shut down before he invested anymore hope into it. He knew it would just land him right back at rock bottom again.

Sasuke was surprised at the tone in Naruto's voice. It seemed so unfitting on the permanently happy blonde.

"I don't know what you're pulling at here, but I'm not someone you can just toy with" Naruto went on when all he'd got in return was a raised brow.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke said, honestly looking confused.

How the hell could he have planned for this? 

_Why the fuck would Naruto think I'm messing with him?_

Naruto may be overreacting, and he knew it, but it wasn't exactly in his control.

His insecurities were surfacing, and the thought that an alpha like Sasuke could actually give a shit about him just seemed too unreal.

"I don't know if its because you've guessed that I'm not a normal alpha or what, but I have no interest in being strung along" Naruto said seriously. 

_Strung along again._

"Strung along? Naruto, what the fuck? I don't even know what's going on. I mean, you're an alpha and my kids' teacher. It's not like I can just proposition you. I didn't mean for you to even find out" Sasuke grit out, not liking that Naruto seemed to think he had somehow set all of this up just to mess with him.

Sasuke was anything but indirect, and this was all foreign territory for him.

He always knew his next three moves in advance, but at this rate, he couldn't even predict the next two seconds.

Naruto felt irritation bubble inside of him.

Irritation at being an alpha. 

If he'd been an omega, or even a beta, none of this would be an issue.

"So because I'm a male alpha its a problem for you?" Naruto grit out, more upset with himself than Sasuke at this point.

Sasuke just let out a deep, humorless chuckle at that.

Naruto didn't really know anything about Sasuke, and that statement proved it. So why was he letting him get under his skin so much?

Sasuke had never given a single shit about what people thought of him, so why now?

"My kids love you. I don't know if you could tell, but they don't get a lot of that. Sakura leaving really did a number on Sarada, she can't lose you too. That's my problem" Sasuke said with a sigh as he stared down in to the sink.

He didn't even really think about it before he'd said it. 

Sasuke had been taught to master putting on a front. Everything was always supposed to appear perfect, but here he was admitting that he was scared and that he had failed his children.

"Don't" Naruto said curtly.

He squeezed his eyes shut to will away the moisture he felt building in them.

Hearing that Sasuke actually saw him as an important part of his kids' lives was not helping.

Sasuke stayed silent, figuring it was best to not do anymore damage.

"I'm an alpha, but I hate it. I've never been like an alpha, a fact that has been taken for granted in the past. So if this is like that, then it stops now, because I don't want Sarada or Ren to lose me anymore than you do" Naruto said through a shaky breath.

_I don't want to lose what I have with Sarada or Ren. Or you._

Outside of his family, he had only divulged that much to one other person, and they had royally fucked him over.

Sasuke finally looked over to see Naruto looking small and vulnerable, despite his impressive stature. He kind of felt like he had a good idea of what the blonde was getting at, but Sasuke hated moving with uncertainty.

When Naruto finally raised his eyes to see Sasuke's looking him over, as if assessing every possibility, that was answer enough for him.

If he wasn't sure, then Naruto was sure it wasn't a good idea.

Naruto dropped his head momentarily to hide his grimace, quickly replacing it with a bitter smirk.

"I'll see you on Monday, Sasuke" Naruto said as he began stepping past him.

Sasuke felt a wave of panic shoot through him.

If Naruto left now, that'd be it. 

Sasuke just saw how guarded he actually was, maybe even more so than Sasuke in some aspects, and if he left now, he'd probably never allow things to get like this ever again.

He shot his arm out to grab Naruto's wrist.

Naruto stilled the second he felt that grip warming his skin.

The panic that Sasuke had felt was answer enough for himself.

He'd never been so worried to have a person exit his life, and even if it wasn't clear how it'd pan out, it'd be worth it to take the risk. 

Sasuke took a second to look into Naruto's unfairly pretty eyes to make sure that he wouldn't be punched for this.

The answer was still unclear, but Sasuke was willing to potentially handle a black eye. 

He laid his hand on the back of Naruto's neck and pulled the blonde into his chest, tilting his head down the slightest bit to slot their lips together.

Naruto was rigid an unresponsive at first, then melted right into it.

He brought his own hand up into Sasuke's hair, reveling in the fact that it was as soft as he'd pictured it to be.

Naruto moved his lips against Sasuke's, matching his rhythm quickly, feeling like his lips might bruise with the delicious force they were using.

He allowed Sasuke to push his lower back against the counter, not even caring at how it dug in uncomfortably when he felt Sasuke snake his tongue into his mouth to caress his own.

Naruto's head was swimming.

He had thought that Sasuke smelt good, but fuck did he taste even better.

After just one taste, Naruto didn't see how he'd ever be able to go without it.

Sasuke had brought his hand up to Naruto's unruly hair and began tugging at the back of it while his other hand left finger shaped bruises on his hip.

Naruto let out a low moan at the harsh pull, a sound that sent every ounce of blood in Sasuke straight to his painfully hard dick.

Sasuke pressed his hips forward for some sort of friction, causing Naruto to gasp when he'd pressed into his erection. 

Sasuke was a proud man, but fuck, he'd do just about anything to keep pulling those sounds out of the blonde in his grasp.

Sasuke had just pulled away from Narutos lips to show the same attention to his neck when he heard a faint squeak or something from the staircase.

Both his and Naruto's heads shot up to look in the direction of the sound, but after a few seconds of not hearing it again, they let it be.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. He was breathing heavily and his lips were red and glossy, his cheeks holding an irritatingly attractive blush.

Sasuke looked at him as if asking for permission to continue, so Naruto used his hand that was still in Sasuke's hair to pull him back in.

It didn't take long for Sasuke to make his way to Naruto's neck, wanting nothing more than to hear those hushed whimpers.

When Sasuke started kissing and lightly biting just above Naruto's scent gland, the blonde lost it, letting out a drawn out moan as he pulled Sasuke's hips into his once again.

Sasuke managed to guide Naruto to the couch with minimal damage to his house, but when they finally got there, he was surprised when Naruto pushed him down into a sitting position.

Sasuke sat down and leaned into the back of the couch while he caught his breath, getting nothing but wave after wave of Naruto's gentle scent.

When Naruto didn't join him on the couch, he was prepared to actually beg for more, but then the blonde got on his knees on the floor between Sasuke's spread legs.

_Fuck._

The sight of Naruto between his legs as he began pulling at the waistband of Sasuke's jeans should not have been as erotic as it was.

It was the type of image that deserved to be hung in a spank bank hall of fame.

Sasuke lifted his hips off of the couch to assist Naruto and threw his head back with a sigh as the constricting material of his jeans was slipped down.

Sasuke wound his fingers through Naruto's hair and watched his every movement as if committing it to memory, which he definitly was.

Naruto wanted to take Sasuke apart just like Sasuke had him, and he had some talents of his own that he was eager to show off.

He wanted to please the other alpha, to hear that he was making him feel good.

When Sasuke felt Naruto free his aching cock, he hissed at the cold air hitting it, then groaned when he felt Naruto gripping the base as he began lightly sucking on the head.

_And this is why nothing compares to alphas._

Sasuke was large, even for an alpha, and Naruto had never been so sure of a mistake in his life.

He knew that the likihood of this not ending badly was slim, but when Sasuke groaned in pleasure for him and let off a scent like he was, Naruto was more than willing to deal with the repercussions for this kind of gratification.

Naruto started bobbing his head, going lower and lower each time, pulling obscene groans from Sasuke that just spurred him on more.

He felt Sasuke nudge at the back of his throat and willed himself to relax so that he could take all of him.

It wasn't all that easy, but it'd been worth it when Naruto's nose pressed into the hard lines of Sasuke's defined stomach and he gripped Naruto's hair even tighter and let out a low moan.

"Holy shit, Naruto" Sasuke groaned out with his head thrown back in bliss and lips parted.

Naruto started pulling back, swirling his tongue as he went, causing Sasuke to shallowly buck his hips up into Naruto's sinful mouth for more.

Before Naruto could deepthroat Sasuke again, the doorbell rang.

Naruto pulled off of Sasuke so quickly his neck pinched from the force.

They exchanged similar looks of disappointment and confusion.

Sasuke checked his watch and saw that it was almost nine thirty at night. He wasn't expecting anyone and he very much wanted to continue.

Right as Naruto was about to take Sasuke back into his mouth, the offending ringing sounded throughout the housse once again.

Sasuke sighed as Naruto pulled back, slightly embarrassed. 

"It'll wake up Sarada and Ren" Naruto said regrettably.

Sasuke huffed and pulled up his pants, not even bothering with buttoning them up as he stalked over to his front door, more than ready to tell whoever it was to fuck right off.

"What reason could you have for rin-" Sasuke had started as he swung his door open, only to have Naruto's enticing scent instantly overpowered by a flowery perfume scent he had grown to despise. 

He hadn't meant to, but he scrunched his nose up, trying to reject the scent from permiating his senses.

"What are you doing here?" He snapped out.

"When you called and said you wanted to work things out, I didn't want to wait until tomorrow" Sakura said excitedly.

"I tried calling, but you didn't answer me" she continued as she stepped past Sasuke, inviting herself into her former home. 

Sasuke didn't even have time to stop her before she was looking at the newly painted kitchen. His mind was still all slow and foggy from receiving the best blow job of his entire life.

"I have a lot to do in here before I move ba-" she picked up on the scent of an aroused alpha. It was kind of hard to miss with how strong it was, like there was more than one.

Then it made sense to the pink haired omega. Her eyes landed on a shocked Naruto.

He was sitting on the couch, lips red and swollen, with red marks on his neck that looked like they'd fade in an hour or two.

She grit her perfect teeth and turned to Sasuke, finally noticing his disheveled state.

She had never seen him anything less than composed, and they'd been married for almost six years!

She crossed her arms and looked between the two alphas with obvious disgust on her face.

"When you'd said that you wanted to work things out, I thought you'd come to your senses" she said to Sasuke.

"Get out" Sasuke said, absolutely fueming.

Sakura's words were just playing on a loop in Naruto's mind.

Sasuke wanted to reconcile with his wife, asked Haku for his phone number, and kissed him.

After he had foolishy trusted him.

The sting was enough to bring Naruto out of the daze he'd been in just a moment ago.

"With the kids' teacher? Really Sasuke? This is who you chose to do your experimenting with?" She spit out, glaring at Naruto like she was trying to make him spontaneously combust.

_Ouch._

Naruto snapped out of his shock and got up and nodded forlornly in understanding to where he and Sasuke stood.

"Naruto, wait" Sasuke said as Naruto made his way over to the door, not even bothering to grab his jacket from the dinning room.

Sasuke was obviously flustered at being caught.

"No, its alright. You two seem like you have a lot to talk about" Naruto said, only sounding half as bitter as he actually was.

"Like I said, I'll see you on Monday, Sasuke" Naruto finished as he looked at Sasuke with nothing but betrayal in his usually soft eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the teaser, but I feel wrong going more than a chapter or two without at least a little smut!
> 
> Anyway, now things are moving along!
> 
> Many many things will be explained in the next chapter!
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading and I love hearing back from you guys!(:


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarada unintentionally makes things happen.

"Tattoos, Karin! He has tattoos! Like a lot of them, and fuck, its so hot" Naruto groaned out.

"He is so fucking hot, but he is getting back with his ex wife!" Naruto scoffed as if it made him sick to his stomach, because well, it did.

"The pink haired priss?" Karin asked, trying to follow the whirlwind story that her brother had already started half a second after barging into her home on Friday night.

She had been half comatose on her couch when he'd simply let himself in using his key.

He normally would have felt bad for just dropping by unannounced, but he didn't know where else to go.

He couldn't stand to be alone with his thoughts, and as pathetic as it sounded coming from a grown man, he just wanted his mom.

She never judged him or made him feel like a freak for being an 'omega alpha'. 

Karin was the next best thing. She understood Naruto and didn't judge him either.

Naruto nodded as he took the bottle of tequila Karin handed back to him.

"You should have seen the way she looked at me. Like I was the scum of the earth or something when shes the one who bailed on her children" Naruto vented.

"I've never liked the bitch. Always acted like she was better than everyone" Karin said, enabling Naruto's ranting. 

"She called me his experiment" Naruto said, suddenly much less angry and much more hurt.

He didn't give a shit about what Sakura thought about him. As far as he was concerned, a person who could just abandon their children the way she did had no right to judge anyone.

He was hurt because it made sense. That's what he had been to Sasuke. A fucking experiment.

"Naruto, just because he's a dick, doesn't mean that any of what they said or made you feel is right" she said, clearly trying to control her rage at the couple that had hurt her brother.

Naruto was literally the kindest, most gentle soul that she had ever known, and the fact that people seemed to do nothing but use it against him had always enraged her to a terrifying degree.

She always used to get into so many fights in school on his behalf, and she was not opposed to doing it one more time.

Naruto just sighed and took a swig straight from the bottle.

"I know it sucks, like really sucks, but at least he showed his true colors before you could do more than kiss him" she said, trying to convince him that there was a silver lining, no matter how insignificant.

Naruto's face just reddened as he looked away from his sister's gaze, knowing just how disappointed she'd be. 

The stray piece of thread on the hem of shirt was suddenly very interesting, apparently. 

"Naruto, what did you do with him? Please don't tell me that you slept with him" she groaned out.

She was concerned, and rightfully so, that the further he'd gone with Sasuke, the harder all of this would be for him to handle.

Naruto didn't go around giving himself out to just anybody. After his first, and only, serious relationship, he'd learned that he could only really be someone that he trusted.

If he thought that he could trust Sasuke enough for that, only to have him turn out to be a massive douchebag, it'd be devastating.

Naruto didn't half ass anything, and feelings were no exception.

"No, I didn't sleep with him, Karin. But I do know what his dick looks like, if you need to know" Naruto answered, not really wanting to spell it out for her.

She just let out a drawn out sigh and scooted over so that she was now sitting next to him on her bedroom floor.

They had their backs resting against the foot of her bed, and she rested her head on his shoulder while she wrapped her arms around his arm that was closest to her.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. You don't deserve any of this" she said gently.

Naruto felt his anger melting away. 

It wasn't like it wasn't still there, it definitely was, but the pain was just stronger.

He'd tried to convince himself that he was just mad. Anger was easier to deal with, but he had no one to be more mad at than himself.

He'd known it was a mistake to trust Sasuke, or anyone for that matter.

He felt the tears rolling down his cheeks, but just ignored it.

If he didn't acknowledge it, it never happened.

That's how adults are supposed to handle shit, right?

"I told him I'm not a normal alpha" Naruto said through a shaky breath.

"Oh, Naruto" Karin said, sounding as if she were talking to a pathetic child.

She knew that Naruto talking to people about _that_ was even rarer than him sleeping with someone.

She didn't pry as to just how much he elaborated on that to Sasuke, knowing that her brother was tapped out for the night.

It was almost one in the morning at this point.

"You staying here?" She didn't even need him to answer, she already knew. She just wanted him to know that he never needed to ask.

"You still have some of dad's pajamas?" He asked as he rested his head on hers, suddenly feeling beyond exhausted.

"Bottom left drawer" she mumbled as she extended her foot to tap on the correct drawer in the dresser in front of them.

Naruto just nodded.

It might seem weird, but Karin had held on to some of their parent's pajamas. Some of her fondest memories of them were from their family movie nights when they'd all stay up late as hell watching one movie of each person's choice while in their pajamas.

They were comfy and comforting and clearly useful in situations like this.

She untangled herself from Naruto's arm and got up, only to plop on to her perpetually unmade bed.

"Pretty sure you still have a toothbrush in the bathroom" she mumbled out, her voice muffled by the insane amount of pillows.

Naruto didn't respond, just grabbed the painfully familiar pajamas from the drawer and went to get ready for at least two days worth of sleep.

When he was all set, he climbed into Karin's bed and threw the blanket over himself as he curled up and faced the wall.

"Keep your snoring in check" Karin said into her pillow.

"Then stay on your side" Naruto shot back as he pushed his leg backward to move her foot off of him from where she was spread out.

"Its my bed. Its all my side" she said.

Naruto just let out a small chuckle.

Everything else might be fucked, but at least this was still normal.

"Thanks, Karin" Naruto whispered.

-

"He was looking for you again" Karin said into her phone as she locked up the daycare for the day.

"How bad did he get it this time?" Naruto sighed out.

As much as he thought Sasuke deserved it, he always pittied anyone that was subjected to the wrath of Karin.

"He got off easy" Karin scoffed out.

All she had done was tell him that if he wanted his children to keep attending the center and keep his face pretty, that he'd better leave her brother alone.

There may or may not have been more colorful language sprinkled in here and there, but the message was still the same.

"Yeah, I'm so sure" Naruto said sarcastically. 

"Is he still pestering you?" She asked after Naruto didn't seem to have anything else to add.

"Not anymore" was all Naruto said.

He hadn't picked up a single phone call or responded to any of Sasuke's many texts. Not even to tell him to fuck off.

He'd blocked his number yesterday, so it had been radio silent for the most part.

Sasuke had even gone so far as to use his other phone number to try and contact Naruto, but Naruto remembered it from when he'd had to call him the first day he'd met him.

As soon as his phone stopped ringing, that number was blocked as well.

"Are you gonna stay home forever?" Karin asked.

"No, I have to come in tomorrow, I'll probably just lock myself in my office while he's there" Naruto said with a sigh.

He used to be excited for pick ups and drop offs when he'd get to see Sasuke, but now he dreaded it.

Plus, he missed Sarada and Ren.

After getting so used to seeing them, it really sucked having to not get to spend time with them.

He knew that it was unrealistic to think that he could avoid Sasuke forever, but until Naruto felt up to it, it was worth the inconvenience.

-

His rather childish plan had worked well enough so far.

Naruto had been sure to be in the two year old room when Sasuke dropped off the kids and picked them up on his first day back, so it was easy enough to avoid seeing him.

This morning he hadn't been so lucky.

Sasuke normally always dropped the kids off at six forty five on the dot, every morning, but by the time it was seven fifteen, there was still no sign of the Uchiha children.

Naruto needed to get back to his office to review some orders, so he came out of hiding and settled for just locking the door.

He figured that Sasuke picked up on his scent yesterday and knew that he was back, and Naruto knew just how cunning the other alpha was.

He wouldn't put it past Sasuke to bring the kids in at a different time just to catch Naruto off gaurd.

He was going over the center's cost analysis when he heard the doorknob jiggle.

"Naruto, I know you're in there" Sasuke said. He still sounded bored, but there had been a little bit of something else there.

_Worry?_

"Do you have Sarada and Ren with you?" Naruto asked, his tone even more deapan than Sasuke's.

Sasuke felt relief wash over him, thinking that Naruto would actually open the door so that they could talk. It made sense that he wouldn't want to do so with his children in tow.

"No, they're in their classes" Sasuke answered as he waited.

"Then fuck off" Naruto spit out.

He had wanted to tell Sasuke that since his first phone call, but he would never use that kind of language with the kids around.

It helped a little, being able to let Sasuke know just how unwling he was to speak with him, but he still had plenty more that he wished to say.

Sasuke was struck by the malice that seemed so wrong coming from the blonde.

He pinched the bridge of his nose out of irritation.

"Look, if you would just let me exp-" Sasuke started.

"There is nothing to explain" Naruto said, cutting him off.

He loved Sasuke's voice; it was deep and rumbling. It was the shit that wet dreams were made of. Which is precisely why he didn't want to have to hear it when he was trying to stay mad at the man who had fucked him over.

Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh as he looked at his watch.

He had already pushed back his work day to ensure that he could catch Naruto, and he really needed to get going.

"Fine, I'll leave. I have to get to work, but just talk to me at some point" Sasuke said. 

"Just, fuck. Just please, Naruto" he added.

Naruto was tempted to hear him out. He was practically begging, something that Sasuke probably never did, and he was doing it for Naruto.

He thought it over, then stood his ground, deciding that he didn't want to hear Sasuke's excuses, at least not yet.

Before he could tell him to fuck off again though, Naruto heard a familiar voice.

"Uchiha!" Karin chastised, sounding like she was still halfway in her classroom.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going" he heard Sasuke huff out. There was no way this was the first time they'd had this conversation.

-

"Uh, Naruto. Im sorry to interrupt, but we need you in the fours" Hinata said, looking more flustered than usual.

She almost never initiated any conversation with, well, anyone, so Naruto figured it was important.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked as he got up and quickly followed her to the classroom.

After having to almost deal with Sasuke this morning, he was really hoping that today would be smooth sailing.

"Its Sarada. She got into a fight" she said meekly.

_Sarada!? Got into a fight!?_

Sarada was the sweetest kid he'd ever met, and she almost always kept to herself. Fighting was never something that he thought he'd have to worry about with her.

He and Hinata barged into the classroom to see Temari restraining a frantic Sarada as she cried and flailed her arms and legs to try and break free.

Hinata went straight over to where a little boy was holding his lip, which looked to be dropping a little blood.

"Sarada, hey. Calm down" Naruto said as he crouched down next to them.

Sarada instantly shot her head over to look at him and flung herself into his arms and cried into his chest.

"What happened?" He asked Temari, worried to see such a violent reaction from such a shy kid.

"I don't know. They were coloring, then all of a sudden she was screaming at him about how she wasn't a liar. Next thing I knew she was wailing on the kid" Temari said as she fixed her shirt before heading over to assist Hianata.

"Sarada, look at me, kiddo. Whats going on?" He asked.

When all he recieved in return was more sniffles, he secured her against him and stood up.

"I'll be in my office. I'll come grab you when I'm done. Be sure to fill out an incident report for both of them, please" Naruto said to Temari before he left.

"Shh, hey Sarada. Can you take a big breath for me, please?" Naruto requested once he set her down on the sofa in his office.

Sarada wiped aggressively at her eyes as she took in some shuddering breaths.

"H-He called me a liar!" She squealed.

"Why would he call you a liar, Sarada?" Naruto asked as he rubbed her back to try and console her.

"I was drawing a-a picture of my family and h-he asked why I drewed you in it. When I told him you were going to be my n-new mommy, he called me a liar and ripped my picture!" She wailed as she started up a fresh bout of crying.

Naruto had no idea where to even start with processing that, so he focused on calming Sarada down first.

It took almost thirty minutes and him sitting down so that she could crawl into his lap.

When her breathing was finally somewhat normal, he pulled her back to look at her.

"Sarada, I know that he upset you, but you know that you can't hurt anyone just because they make you mad" Naruto said.

She just nodded shamefully. She knew right from wrong, more so than most four year olds, and didn't want to have Naruto upset with her.

"I know, Naru, I'm sorry. But he called me a liar" she pouted.

"I understand that, love, but that still doesn't make it okay" he said with repressed smile.

Convincing children that they can't do whatever they want to was always just a repetitive back and forth.

"Please don't be mad at me, Naru" she begged with a wobbly lip.

"I'm not mad at you, Sarada, but why did you tell him that I'm going to be your new mom?" He asked, choosing not to acknowledge the emotional crack in his voice.

He was more worried about Sarada being distressed enough to lash out in such an uncharecteristic way than anything else.

Coming from a daycare director, that was bad.

He should be worried about both kids, but the young boy was in good hands, and to be honest, he was kind of a little jerk sometimes.

He was always having issues with the other kids. This wasn't the first time he'd been involved in a physical altercation.

It was clearly unprofessional, but Naruto was concerned for Sarada past what a teacher should be.

"I saw you and daddy kiss. That's what mommies and daddies do" she answered like it was obvious.

Naruto let out a shaky breath.

_So the squeak we'd heard had been Sarada._

He couldn't string together a coherent thought, let alone explain to an emotionally delicate four year old that he wasn't her new mom.

"Sarada, you already have a mommy" Naruto said, figuring that was the best way to avoid having to explain his and Sasuke's confusing relationship, or at this point, lack thereof.

"But she's gone!" She cried out, almost like she was begging.

She threw herself back into his chest and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck for a heart breakingly desperate hug.

"I wish you were my mommy, Naru" she said as she started to soak his shirt with tears again.

"Its alright, love. I'm here" Naruto whispered, feeling like he was betraying her.

Naruto clearly meant as much to her as she did to him.

He felt like he was lying to her, because he honestly didn't know how much longer he'd be in her life with how things were going.

All because he couldn't handle a measly crush.

-

The second that Naruto saw Sasuke enter the lobby, he snatched him by his arm and pulled him into his office.

Sasuke was unappreaciative of having been caught of gaurd, but when he could smell Naruto's calming scent, he relaxed.

Until he saw the glare that Naruto wore.

"Are you done hiding from me, then?" Sasuke asked, trying to reel in his irritation.

This was all just one massive migraine that could've been avoided had Naruto actually spoken to him instead of acting like a child.

"No" Naruto bit out as he closed the door.

"Sarada got into a fight today" Naruto said.

The most emotion that Naruto had ever seen from Sasuke came from hearing that.

"Is she okay? What happened? Where is she?" Sasuke asked.

"She's fine, physically. She's with Karin right now" Naruto answered, noticing the less than thrilled expression on Sasuke's face at hearing that his daughter was with Karin.

What he refused to notice was the pang of affection that he felt at seeing Sasuke be so protective of his daughter.

"She drew a picture. A picture of her family, but she drew me in it. Another student asked why, and she said it was because I was going to be her new mom. He called her a liar and ripped it, so she hit him" Naruto continued.

"She said you're going to be her mom?" Sasuke asked, completely breezing over the fact that his child assaulted another kid.

"That sound we heard, it was Sarada. She saw us in your kitchen" Naruto elaborated.

Sasuke just let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He really needed to put a bell on that kid.

"Sasuke, this stops. All of it. Either things go back to how they _should_ be, or you find another daycare for Sarada and Ren" Naruto said sternly, forcing the lump in his throat down at the thought of never seeing the two children again.

It was the last thing that he wanted, but after seeing just how much of a toll Sakura leaving had taken on Sarada, it was what he thought would be the safest option.

Naruto would love nothing more than to be there for her like she wanted him to be, but there was just no way Naruto could give up that much of himself up again for only a version of his dream.

Teachers could fill empty rolls in childrens' lives, but the only proper way to do that was to have things be clear and consice.

Naruto's involvement in Sarada's life was anything but clear.

"You're kicking them out?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"No, I'm not kicking them out, but for the sake of everyone involved, but especially Sarada, I think its best that she only see me as her teacher or nothing at all" Naruto elaborated, forcing his emotion down.

"How can you even say that? You're the closest thing she has ever had to an actual mother" Sasuke grit out.

He was panicking. 

As much as Naruto taking over where Sakura had never started was bringing out a lot of the emotional problems it had caused with Sarada, it was also mending it.

If everything just ceased, he didn't even want to imagine how poorly it'd effect her.

"Sasuke, she has a mom. I have no interest in coming between a family. Sarada needs her mom" Naruto said.

He was practically begging the man to just agree to his terms and call it wraps on this whole fiasco. Hearing those things just made it all the more difficult to stick with his decision.

Sasuke just scoffed.

"She has someone that gave birth to her, and thanks to her, that's all she's ever had" Sasuke spit out.

He was so angry with Sakura, so angry at himself. 

Because of her, he never wanted to be home, which unintentionally caused him to never be there for his children, who apparently needed him desperately.

He felt like a monumentious failure, and failure was something unbelievably foreign to the Uchiha.

"Look, I get why you're upset with me, but don't punish Sarada for it. I'm sure you've heard it all before, but it truly isn't what it looks like. I need to go get Sarada, but I'm asking you to stop by so you can hear me out. It doesn't have to be when the kids are awake if that will make it easier. If you want me to leave you alone, fine, I will whether you decided to come over or not, but just-" Sasuke took a second to collect his thoughts.

He didn't do this kind of thing, and was rather embarrassed to have been reduced down to essentially begging.

"Just come over at some point tonight if you even want an explanation" Sasuke said before exiting Naruto's office without so much as another look at the blonde alpha.

-

Naruto brought Sarada's blanket up to her shoulders and gently tucked it.

He thought he'd been resolute with his choice, but he just couldn't stay away with all of the potential outcomes swimming around in his head.

He knew it was selfish to show up at Sasuke's.

He knew that it'd do him and Sarada more harm than good if things ended up going just as badly as Naruto thought they would, but he just wanted to read her one more round of bedtime stories.

He had gotten too comfortable in the Uchihas' lives, and hadn't thought twice about getting to do something as simple as reading Sarada a bedtime story.

He couldn't even remember what stories he'd read to her the last time.

He didn't want the last time that he got to tuck her in to bed to be unclear.

This time he read her as many stories as she'd asked, committing each title to memory, just in case.

He wanted to just stay in here and hide, but that would not get anything resolved. Plus, hiding out in a child's room is usually frowned upon, so Naruto let out a sigh and got up.

Naruto braced himself for some painful closure, wishing that he could just learn to have faith in people again, but unfortunately he knew all to well how cruel people could be.

When Naruto walked down the stairs he saw Sasuke sitting on the couch in the dimly lit living room.

Sasuke whipped his head up as soon as he'd heard Naruto's footsteps.

He looked relieved at finally having a shot at explaining himself, all too hopeful that everything would be fine.

He vastly underestimated just how jaded Naruto actually was underneath his cheety disposition.

"Go ahead" Naruto said, remaining at the foot of the stairs and leaning against the gaurd rail.

Sasuke's hopeful aura was gone in an instant, replaced with his standard cold and calculating mask.

As desperate as he was to have this work out, he still had his pride. No matter how much it'd hurt, he wouldn't let Naruto see that.

"I'm sorry that Sakura just barged in here. After you left, we got into it and she knows that she will no longer be welcome back into my life in any capacity" Sasuke said.

"So you realized that I wasn't okay with being your little something on the side and called it off? That's the explanation that you thought would fix everything?" Naruto scoffed out, already heading for the door.

"Naruto, I never had any interest in 'anything on the side'. Let me rephrase" Sasuke said, already failing to not let on just how much he wanted this to work out.

"I called Sakura to ask if there was anyway for us to work things out so that she would at least see the kids every once and a while" he said, checking to make sure that Naruto would be willing to stay put before he continued. 

"It sounds shitty, but I was never here. I didn't really get to see how Sakura was with Sarada all that much. I thought I just caught glimpses of her being frustrated. It's been hard for Sarada, extremely hard. She waskes up every night and crawls into my bed, asking if I still love her. Its like she's making sure that I won't leave too. It made me realize she needs a mom, which is why I called Sakura" he said, feeling a foreign pressure behind his eyes.

"Sakura heard what she wanted to hear, and figured I wanted for her and I to work on our marriage. I shut it down and she went ballistic. Her screaming woke the kids up, and Sarada told me that Sakura was always like that with her and that she didn't want that mom back. She wants you, I w-" Sasuke stopped for a breath when he felt moisture on his cheek.

It was just a drop, but he absenymindedly wiped it away before he realized what it was. 

_Am I crying?_

Sasuke couldn't remember the last time that he'd cried, probably infancy.

Finally realizing the true extent of the damage he'd allow to happen to his daughter crushed him to the point of tears.

"I want you in our life too" Sasuke finished, his voice softer than he'd ever heard it before.

"How can you expect me to trust a single word that you just said when you can cast your wife, the mother of your children, to the side so easily?" Naruto bit out.

It was working. Sasuke's charming words were cracking his resolve, but that's how they always get you. Naruto couldn't let it happen, so he just focused on the one miniscule part of Sasuke's monolog that cast him in a somewhat negative light and ran with it.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Naruto" Sasuke grit out.

He didn't know who he was more upset at; Sakura for quite literally forcing him into a life that he did not want, or Naruto for thinking that he had any right to assume the worst of him without letting him explain things.

"Then by all means, Sasuke. Enlighten me" Naruto said defiantly as he took a seat on the recliner next to the sectional.

Sasuke dispised talking in general, but he disliked talking about his personal issues even more.

He told himself that he was doing this for Sarada's benefit, but he knew, fuck did he know, that it was because he didn't see how he could deal with that blonde ray of sunshine leaving his life forever.

"I'm gay, Naruto. Always have been" Sasuke said, leading with something that he figured was obvious.

When Naruto's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, Sasuke concluded that it hadn't been apparent to Naruto.

"I grew up going to school with Sakura and she was always obsessed with me. When I presented as an alpha and her an omega, she became relentless. Its not like I hid being gay from anyone, I just didn't like anyone enough to tell them, but our senior year of high school, she just wouldn't let up. I snapped and told her we'd never be together due to her being female" Sasuke said, taking a break to reach for the glass in front of him. He took a generous swig before continuing. 

"Anyway, she was pissed that her dream to marry me one day would not become a reality, but the sneaky bitch figured it out one day" Sasuke said with nothing but spite in his tone.

"She followed me to college, which should have been the first sign to her being truly psychotic, but she still kept at it. When I graduated, everyone thought I'd go work for my father, but I refused. He was already so pissed that I turned my back on his legacy to pursue aviation, so when she approached him, it didn't take much to convince him to ruin my life" Sasuke said.

He had probably said more words in the last ten minutes than he had in the last month.

Talking about everything just made him feel like that helpless idiot fresh out of college trying to make it on his own again.

After the few moments Sasuke took to collect himself, he expected Naruto to snap at him again, but the other alpha was just waiting for Sasuke to continue, looking like he had been hanging on his every word.

With a deep breath, Sasuke continued. "When I decided to start my own company, my father offered to fund it, but I wouldn't let him. I knew it was just a ploy for him to keep his control over me, but I was niave and he still managed to get his way".

Another irritated sigh at the memory and he was off again. 

"When Sakura finally got it through her head that I would not willingly be with her, she went to my father. She fucking outed me to him" Sasuke said in disgust.

"She convinced him that her and I would be perfect together and that a bond between us would create strong business ties for his company and her father's. That was all he needed to hear. He had two companies that I had no clue he was affiliated with invest in mine. I thought I was being so smart in holding on to my forty nine percent, while I split up the remaining fifty one between two seemingly unrelated corporations. I had no clue they were in his pocket and that I had basically handed the majority share over to my father" Sasuke said.

All of his frustration was coming back just like it had the day he'd found out.

He didn't even realize that he'd stopped talking until Naruto spoke up.

"Then what?" he asked.

"He told me that if I wanted to disgrace his family name, that he would insure that my company is sold for scraps and that I'd be left with nothing. He ordered me to marry Sakura to secure an alliance with Hurano Brokeridge, otherwise he'd tank my company. I'd worked so fucking hard to get started, and its not like I really had a real life outside of work, so I did it" Sasuke said, his head hung in shame.

He felt like a coward.

"I married her thinking that she would just give up and leave when she figured out that a piece of paper wouldn't make me love her. I never just casted her to the side, she knew exactly what she was getting into. I told her right away that I would never love her and that our marriage was basically a glorified bussiness deal and blackmail" he said.

Naruto was disgusted.

He was disgusted that he'd ever pittied Sakura for seeming like the perfect housewife that was being neglected.

"Then why'd you decide to file for divorce all of a sudden? What changed?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious at this point.

This was like a soap opera.

"I told my father that I needed to buy out two percent of the shares he controlled for a partnership, had fake manufacturing orders printed up and everything. He gouged the hell out me on the price, but I got them. The second he no longer had the majority, I was on the phone with my lawyer" Sasuke answered, a smug smirk on his face at the memory of his father's reaction when he'd found out.

"So why can't she see the kids?" Naruto asked.

He could understand why Sasuke might be wary of someone like that being around his children, but she seemed to have wronged him more than them.

Sasuke let out a humorless chuckle as he stared up at the vaulted ceiling.

"The kids were nothing but pawns to her. My father wanted his name to continue, so I gave him some grandkids to get him off my back. Sakura saw them as the perfect bargaining chips, but as soon as I told her that I was really going through with it, she bailed. She didn't want the responsibility of two kids if she didn't get to have me in the deal" Sasuke said bitterly.

He took another deep breath and looked at a shocked Naruto.

"As horrible as it sounds to say, they were simply a means to an end, but unlike her, I do love them" Sasuke said, trying to convince Naruto that he wasn't heartless and a complete failure of a father.

The blonde just stayed completely still as he processed the mountain of information that Sasuke had just thrown his way.

"You're honestly telling me that you feel bad for her and see me as some kind of womanizer? I was never playing you or stringing you along, Naruto. I want nothing more than for that psychopath to leave me alone" he said, somehow even more serious than he usually was.

"She- she just _used_ her own kids?" Naruto asked, completely dumbfounded.

"Yes, she did. Now do you see why I just 'cast her to the side'? Sarada told me that Sakura was never all that nice to her, just put on the act of devoted mother when I was home" Sasuke said it like the words tasted badly.

"Is that why you're unmarked?" Naruto asked, eyes going wide when he realized what he'd said.

Sasuke smirked at the fact that Naruto had taken note of his lack of a bonding mark.

"She insisted on holding my mark, wanted to show it off I'm sure. I honestly didn't care, so I did it to appease her. I never felt any pull to her because of how much I detested her as a person, and her bearing my mark did nothing to change that" Sasuke answered.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know" Naruto said, feeling like utter and complete shit for thinking the worst of Sasuke.

"Then why not let me explain?" Sasuke asked, looking like he was torn between being hurt at Naruto's obvious assumptions and angry at pretty much everything.

"I just- its hard for me, y'know? I haven't exactly had the easiest go of relationships because of-" Naruto took a shuddering breath. 

_If Sasuke can tell me all of that, I can tell him this._

"Because of how I am" he finished.

"Gay? Naruto, I just told you I am too, something that very few people know" Sasuke said, trying to convey just how much he trusted Naruto.

"No- well, yeah, I am gay. But I've always just been different, I guess" Naruto said, looking at Sasuke, hoping that he'd figure it out so that he didn't have to say it out loud.

He knew he wouldn't handle Sasuke viewing him as some sort of freak well.

Sasuke just raised his brows in silent question.

_God damnit._

"Most alphas want to be the shot caller, the provider, while their omegas take care of their kids and house. I've never been interested in a stereotypical 'alpha' role. I just- fuck, I feel like I'd be better suited for-" Naruto was scattered. 

He literally couldn't force it out, seeing as how the last time it had ended in psychological scarring.

"You are more omegaen than alpha?" Sasuke provided after seeing the way Naruto was clearly uncomfortable with verbalizing it.

He wasn't an idiot, he'd picked up on the things that Naruto did that were more like an omega's behavior, but he never thought that it was anything more than him just being a more gentle alpha. They may be rare, but they did exist.

"I get it if you think I'm a freak, but yeah. I fucking hate being an alpha, and I've wanted nothing more than to have a family of my own, but I know it'd never be in the way I'd want, so I just never bothered. That's why I got so upset. This was the closest thing I've ever had to what I've always wanted and then she- she came in here and called me your _experiment_ " Naruto said, suddenly overwhelmingly angry again.

He had just heard Sasuke's life story, and it explained almost everything, yet he was still pissed. 

He was pissed at the world for giving some unworthy omega what he'd always wanted, and said omega waltzed right in and crushed all of his hope in one statement, all because of his envy.

He envied Sakura, but she didn't deserve it. 

She sounded like an absolutely terrible person, and here Naruto was, kind as can be, still jealous of her.

Naruto got up, flustered from his sudden rage, but Sasuke took it as him trying to make a break for it again.

Sasuke was up in an instant and blocked Naruto in against the wall just to the left of the front door.

He was sure to leave him as much space as possible, but he didn't want to give him the option of just walking out again without knowing that Sasuke had tried.

"I'm sorry that she said that to you" Sasuke said, staring right into Naruto's eyes. Sasuke's eyes were fierce and protective. Almost territorial.

"You aren't an experiment, and I don't think that you're a freak, I think that you're amazing. I've never seen my children looked at with more love before. You've given them something they've never had before, something that _she_ could never give them" Sasuke growled out.

He didn't like knowing that Sakura had hurt Naruto with her careless words.

He felt a need to protect the blonde alpha.

Naruto's eyes went slightly wide at the protective tone in Sasuke's voice. He stared at the Uchiha for any signs that he was just messing with him, but there weren't any.

Then Naruto was suddenly surrounded by a thick layer of Sasuke's cologne worthy scent.

_He's letting off waves to comfort me?_

It didn't even look like Sasuke knew he was doing it, almost like he was running off of his instincts. 

It was common practice for alphas to let off strong waves of their scent as a comforting mechanism for their omegas whenever they were distressed.

It was one of the most simple forms of care between mates, but also one of the most intimate.

Naruto had never experienced it before, and because of that, it was working just a little too well.

He was overwhelmed with Sasuke's scent and all of the feelings and thoughts whirling around in his head.

Naruto let out a gasp that sounded more like a whimper, and something inside of Sasuke just snapped.

He then realized what he was doing, but instead of fearing that he'd offended the other alpha, he wanted to ravish him.

His scent obviously effected Naruto much like it would an omega, which was something that excited him and caught him off gaurd.

He didn't know anything about how things worked between two alphas, its not like it was all that common, but that was a very interesting revelation.

Sasuke had never been the type of alpha to go all hump crazy over scents. Even when Sakura would go into her heats he remained uneffected, having to resort to fucking her doggy style while he imagined a man just to keep it up the few times he'd helped her through it.

But not this. Maybe it was because Naruto was the textbook definition of a man; broad, strong, solid muscle, and an alpha to boot. Something that Sasuke had been deprived of for far too long.

Sasuke looked Naruto over one last time to ensure that he wasn't misinterpreting anything before diving down and tucking his head in the crook of Naruto's neck.

He trailed the edge of nose down the small expanse of his neck that had been between him and Naruto's scent gland, drawing in a deep breath when he'd reached it.

Sasuke let out an obscene groan that rumbled deep in his throat when he caught the not so subtle aroused scent pouring out. His hips moved all on their own as he pressed himself into Naruto with a desperate force.

"Sasuke" Naruto breathed out when he felt the other alpha's impressive hardness grind into his own.

He felt like he was going into one of his ruts with how gone he felt. His knees buckled for fuck's sake. Without Sasuke pressing into him, he surely would have fallen.

Sasuke felt a satisfying arousal lick all throughout his body, not dissimilar to a rut, when he heard his name fall from Naruto's parted lips.

He had never felt anything like it before.

He wanted to own Naruto.

Sasuke gave a harsh bite to the sensitive gland, not enough to break the skin, but definitely enough to leave a lingering taste of Naruto's scent behind in his mouth. It made his canines ache with an unfamiliar need.

To distract himself from those dangerous thoughts, he brought his head up to taste another part of Naruto that had been on his mind for the past week.

He wasted no time with teasing, meeting Naruto's tongue with his in a needy kiss.

It managed to be precise enough to send shivers through the both of them, but filthy enough to send blood straight to their dicks.

This was all new to Sasuke. He'd never felt a primal need for anyone before, but he _needed_ Naruto.

But he also needed to make sure that they were on the same page of how things would work. He needed confirmation before he reached the point of no return, which if he was honest with himself, was probably a few minutes ago, but still.

The last thing that he wanted to do was offend Naruto or hurt him.

"So that's what you want? To be an omega? To be fucked like an omega? _My_ omega?" Sasuke growled out when he pulled back just enough to free his lips, grinding right into Naruto's hard cock for emphasis.

He actually felt it twitch against him at the last part.

_Fuck._

"That it isn't it, Naruto?" Sasuke asked with a predatory grin.

Sasuke literally didn't feel like himself right now. His alpha had taken over and Sasuke had never felt something this strong in all of his life. He burned with anticipation.

It's not like he wanted for Naruto to be an omega, he was happy to have Naruto just how he was, but he wanted to give Naruto what he needed too. He seemed to have been deprived of what he really wanted for quite some time as well.

Naruto couldn't bring himself to look at Sasuke when he admitted it, still somehow unconvinced that Sasuke was more than willing to indulge his fantasy.

He just held his eyes shut as he bared his neck and nodded while running his tongue over his swollen lips for more of Sasuke's reassuring taste.

"Please" Naruto whispered.

"I can do that for you" Sasuke breathed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So to be clear, I don't hate Sakura, I'm just doing what I gots to do for this plot to unfold.  
> My apologies to the Sakura fans out there!
> 
> Anywaaaaays, I apologize for the teasing cliff hanger here, but this chapter got away from me in terms of length.  
> But I promise, my darlings, the smut is very near!
> 
> As is more of these goofs trying to get their shit together.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading!  
> And thank you for all of the kudos and comments, I really appreciate it!<3
> 
> I love hearing from you guys and seeing what you guys think will happen next or what you'd like to see!(:


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut, smut, and more smut!  
> Literally, like 95% smut.

"I can do that for you"

Thats it. Those six words were all it took for Naruto to completely fall apart.

It was like an entirely different person was pressing into Sasuke with the way Naruto had latched onto him, desperately pulling him closer.

It didn't seem like some cheesy acting for the thrill of the fantasy. He genuinely reacted as an omega would.

"I want you in my bed" Sasuke groaned out when Naruto's hips pressed into his at just the right angle with the perfect amount of force.

It was true, Sasuke did want him in his bed, surrounding the blonde with nothing but his scent, but he wasn't sure that waiting those few seconds to make it there wouldn't kill him.

But after Sarada had proved that she was quite the stealthy little snoop, he was not about to risk pinning Naruto down in his living room.

Naruto's head shot up from where he'd tucked it in Sasuke's neck, because yes he wanted that, but no, he did not want to part from Sasuke.

He feared that the second the moment broke, Sasuke would change his mind.

He looked at Sasuke in a silent plea to stay right where they were.

Suddenly things were much less desperate when Sasuke saw the urgent look in the blonde's eyes.

He wasn't sure if he was panicking because they had already crossed so many lines or what, but he felt an uncontrollable need to ease all of Naruto's worries.

Sasuke brought his hand up to Naruto's jaw, his large hand sprawling out so that he was cupping the blonde’s cheek.

He traced the lines of his seemingly perfect features, dragging his thumb along Naruto's slightly swollen bottom lip.

"I need you behind a door with a lock" Sasuke said gently with that smirk that was like Viagra to the blonde.

As soon as Sasuke saw the worry vanish from Naruto's eyes he relaxed and went in for another kiss.

They hadn't even been separated for an entire minute, but it still felt like too long to go without that sinful mouth on his.

It involved just as much tongue as the last one, but it was so slow it was almost torturous for them.

When Sasuke had gotten enough of a fix to make it to the room, he hurriedly dragged Naruto across the living room, and shut his door, being sure to hear the telling click of the lock.

When he turned around with a sigh of relief, he saw Naruto standing there like a deer in headlights.

Sasuke was in awe at just how much like an omega he truly was, but the aching between his legs brought his attention back to what really mattered at that moment.

He slid his own t-shirt off in one fluid movement, looking up at Naruto almost coyly when it was over his head and discarded off to the side.

Sasuke wasn't overly cocky, even if he came off as such, but he did know that he was a rather lovely sight, so he was fairly entertained by Naruto's blatant staring.

Sure, Naruto had fully anticipated for the other alpha to be fit, but there was a point where it just had to be too good to be true, and this was it. 

Sasuke was all hard lines of trim muscle, littered with colorful and flowing designs.

Naruto honest to God thought he might pass the hell out.

"Shy?" Sasuke teased as he gently grabbed Naruto's wrist and brought the blonde's hand to the firm lines of his stomach. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment when he felt the large, rough hand come into contact with his bare skin. It was so much better than the dainty hands he had become accustomed to.

"What happened to the guy that got on his knees for me just last week?" Sasuke added as he used his grip on Naruto's wrist to drag his hand down over his clothed erection.

It wasn't that Naruto was shy, he was just caught off gaurd. He didn't think it was possible for him to be any more attracted to Sasuke, but of course he just kept getting more and more gorgeous.

Naruto almost felt the need to pinch at his arm to ensure that this was his actual life. Sasuke just had to be a dream.

But, just because he preferred being on the receiving end of things, it did not mean that he was meek and submissive. While this side of Sasuke had him the hardest he'd ever been, he knew that the terminally stoic alpha had a particular weak spot.

Even though Naruto had been the one with a dick down his throat, something almost every alpha looked at as being undignified, he'd never felt more powerful.

Hearing the sounds that he was capable of pulling out of such a composed man just did things for him.

"Probably exactly what happened to the guy who couldn't get enough of it" Naruto said as he pressed himself against Sasuke with purpose and outright groped him.

Sasuke's head had been forced up against the wall from the sudden movement, but not in a painful way, not that he'd be able to register pain anyway with the way that Naruto gripped his confined erection. 

That was what he wanted to see. He was never the type to want someone to just lay down and take it, he liked a little more bite.

Naruto could hear the smirk in Sasuke's exhale when he started trailing haphazard kisses and bites down Sasuke's neck.

He was usually a much more thorough lover, but all of that needed to wait. He wanted to hear his name in that silky baritone again.

Naruto lowered himself gracefully onto his knees in front of Sasuke once more, taking just the tiniest bit of time to nip at the defined line where Sasuke's hip laid right above the waistband of his snug, black boxer briefs.

Naruto tugged the waistband down, taking Sasuke's black joggers with them.

Naruto didn't know why he was so surprised, he'd already seen Sasuke's dick, hell, he'd been jacking off to the memory all week, but he still felt his eyes widen the slightest bit.

"I think we both know that your more than capable" Sasuke teased in that low voice when he saw Naruto falter for just a moment.

He brought his hand up to the impossibly soft blonde hair and threaded his fingers through it to encourage the other alpha.

Because Naruto had proved that he was _very_ capable, something that Sasuke was eager to experience again.

Naruto snapped out of it and slid his own shirt off, but before Sasuke could admire the freshly revealed tan skin, Naruto forcefully pinned his hips against the door so hard that his fingernails were sure to leave marks.

Sasuke threw his head back against the wall when Naruto shot him a teasing grin, not trusting himself to hold off on cumming with a sight like that.

He clenched his jaw to stop himself from letting out what no doubt would have been a porn worthy moan when he felt Naruto wrap his lips around the tip.

Sasuke had to force himself to keep his eyes shut to avoid the temptation of glancing down.

He hadn't been with a man in so long, and honestly, Naruto’s eyes between someone’s legs would probably be enough to make anyone cum on sight.

He wanted to savor this for as long as possible.

As much as Naruto enjoyed the view of Sasuke's impossibly defined jaw clenching as he bit his lip for all it was worth, it wasn't quite what he had in mind.

He wanted Sasuke squirming and desperate for more just like the last time.

Naruto took a deep breath through his nose before taking almost all of Sasuke in, forcing his throat to relax.

Sasuke jerked and clenched his fists, but other than a satisfied sigh, he didn't budge.

With determination, Naruto pulled back to the tip, being sure to give the sensitive ridge a harsh suck before he started taking all of Sasuke in again.

It was slower this time, giving Naruto the chance to pay Sasuke's shaft some attention on the way back down to the base.

Sasuke's resolve was rapidly crumbling as Naruto set a steady pace, consistently flicking his tongue around the tip.

He was pulling at the strands of blonde hair in his grip and digging his blunt nails into the wall that he was being pushed into, basically trying to hold onto anything that would allow him not to lose control.

Sasuke was right on the verge of letting a groan slip out when Naruto completely pulled off of him.

Sasuke damn near whined out of desperation to get him to resume, but Naruto slowly began stroking him, staying mostly to the almost too sensitive head as he glared up at the Uchiha.

Sasuke chanced a peak down and let out a throaty chuckle at the disgruntled expression on Naruto's face.

He had more than earned to hear those low moans that he knew Sasuke could let out. The sounds Sasuke had made that night had been running on a loop in his mind, and he wanted them again.

"Gonna have to work a little harder to get me to crack" Sasuke breathed out before thumping his head back to rest it on the wall again as he caught his breath.

It was a complete lie, at this point Sasuke was sure he could recieve the world's shittiest hand job from Naruto, and he would still manage to have him a moaning mess.

But he wasn't about to admit that.

Naruto just flashed him an unseen smirk and dove back in with a renewed vigor.

He took Sasuke down right to the back of his throat, but instead of pulling up, he hallowed his cheeks to create a mind blowing level of suction as his tongue pressed against just the right spot.

Apparently it didn't take much more work after all, because the second Naruto reached his slightly formed knot, Sasuke felt a low groan rumbling in his throat.

Naruto decided to keep with the same pattern for a moment, pulling up slowly, circling the head, then diving right back down to the base again to hallow his cheeks.

It didn't even take a full minute before Sasuke was gripping Naruto's hair feircly and started bucking his hips.

"Fuck, Naruto. That mouth" Sasuke grit out between moans as he began taking his pleasure from the willing blonde.

Sasuke would have liked to say that he had been strong enough to hold back for Naruto's sake, but there wasn't a chance in hell.

The second that Sasuke felt the vibrations through his cock from Naruto moaning when Sasuke had all but shoved it to the back of his throat, he snapped.

He began thrusting his hips faster, gasping and groaning with each movement.

Naruto's fingers were still digging into his hips, but they were no longer forcing him to stay pinned to the wall, in fact, he was encouraging Sasuke.

With each thrust, Naruto would hold Sasuke's hips in place for a little while longer to try and reach the very last bit.

"So good for me. Letting me use your mouth like a good omega" Sasuke groaned out, finally looking down at the beautiful man between his legs.

_Holy shit._

As if the stimulation wasn't enough, the way that Naruto's tear rimmed eyes absolutely lit up at the praise had Sasuke throwing his head back to avoid shooting off right then and there.

He let a pleased growl rumble in his chest, picking up on the not so subtle fact that Naruto had quite the little praise kink.

Had it not been for the rather large intrusion, Naruto would have been beaming from ear to ear. He loved knowing that he was pleasing Sasuke, giving him enough pleasure to make him lose himself.

When Naruto heard Sasuke growl, he craved more. 

He released one of his hand's hold on Sasuke's hip and brought his hand behind Sasuke's on his head while his other hand pinned Sasuke to the wall again.

Sasuke's eyes shot open, when he felt Naruto putting pressure on his hand that was gripping the soft, blonde locks.

Naruto flashed his eyes up with a silent plea in them, and Sasuke took the hint.

He kept his hips still, instead, forcibly moving Naruto's head up and down his length as Naruto put both hands back on his hips.

Sasuke went slower, but deeper, pushing Naruto a little further down on the base each time.

The sounds of Naruto struggling to accommodate his length only made Sasuke throb for more.

When Naruto finally had his nose pressed into the dusting of hair on Sasuke's lower stomach, he lost all ability to think.

"Fuck, Naruto. Such a good little cockslut, taking me so good" Sasuke breathed out as Naruto finally took in the entirety of his forming knot.

Sasuke's toes were curled so tightly, it almost hurt, and he felt like if it weren't for Naruto's hold, his knees would've given out.

Then Naruto snaked his tongue out and managed to caress Sasuke's balls with it as his hand helped to make up for what he couldn't reach.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Sasuke babbled as he used his grip on Naruto's hair to pull him off.

Naruto was out of breath, but he was determined and made to take him in once again, but was stopped by a panting Sasuke.

"As much as I'd like to see your face covered in my cum, I'd really rather cum in you" Sasuke said urgently.

_Yeah, okay. That. That sounds good._

Naruto scrambled up to his feet and pressed himself against Sasuke, immediately snaking his tongue against Sasuke's.

Sasuke was grabbing on to any part of Naruto that he could reach, and found his hand wrapped up in unruly blonde hair once more.

He gripped hard and pulled Naruto's head back at a drastic angle as he stepped forward to crowd the blonde.

"That's what you want, isn't it? For me to take you and fill you with my knot" Sasuke said, clearly not as a question.

This angle had Naruto looking up at him in submission, something that had never interested Sasuke all that much before now. 

He'd never felt that alpha need to dominate someone before, but Naruto, Naruto he wanted to be his.

"Please, alpha" Naruto breathed out through red and swollen lips.

_God, he is fucking beautiful._

Sasuke let out another growl before harshly releasing his hold on Naruto's hair.

"Get on my bed" Sasuke said, his alpha tone in full effect.

Sasuke had taken a chance with using his full alpha tone. Just because Naruto enjoyed bottoming, did not mean that he'd be okay with being ordered around like that.

Of course the tone itself didn't compell him biologically like it would an omega, it was actually supposed to do the exact opposite since he was an alpha as well, but that fact that Sasuke was genuinely treating him like an omega had Naruto instantly on the bed.

Sasuke took the moment of brief separation to drink in the sight of Naruto.

The blonde was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking at Sasuke, awaiting further instruction with lust crazed eyes.

Sasuke's predictions had been correct, the other alpha was very much in shape, possibly more so than him in some aspects.

While Sasuke had broad shoulders and strong muscles, he was more on the lean side. Naruto, however, was filled out with much more bulkier definition. 

It wasn't too crazy. It was just the right amount in every possible way.

Sasuke's eyes roamed lower and he gave Naruto a cocky smirk as he saw the very obvious straining in the front of his jeans.

Sasuke stepped out of his boxer briefs and joggers as he stalked over to his prey, placing his hands on either side of Naruto's thighs as he crowded him.

Sasuke brought one hand up to grab Naruto by the chin, forcing him to look him in the eye, not that it was needed; Naruto's eyes followed him like a painting.

"Such a filthy mouth" Sasuked teased as he ran his thumb along Naruto's bottom lip, his eyes never leaving the blonde's face.

Naruto's eyes fluttered shut at the praising tone mixed with the dirty words as Sasuke brought his thumb between Naruto's parted lips.

Naruto didn't need to be told twice, instantly closing his lips around the digit and giving a long, sensual suck as he stared into Sasuke's eyes with a vulnerable, yet mischievous look.

He knew exactly what he was doing to Sasuke.

Sasuke just smirked and lunged forward, going straight for the jugular, literally.

His hand slid down to the wonderfully defined chest in front of him as he gave none too gentle kisses to Naruto's throat.

Naruto threw his head back to give Sasuke more room as his breathing picked up to near panting.

Sasuke felt the pounding of Naruto's pulse point and gave it a little nip as his hand reached the waist of Naruto's jeans.

Sasuke let his curiosity get the better of him for just a moment when he gripped the obvious erection being confined by the worn material.

Naruto tasted too good, and Sasuke hadn't gotten his fill yet, but he itched to know if his fantasies had been correct.

And they were.

Sasuke groaned when he felt that Naruto truly was all man, and a rather 'gifted' one at that.

He expertly popped the button free and haphazardly began shoving the material down with much less grace.

Naruto lifted his hips to allow Sasuke to yank his jeans off, happy to be rid of them when the other alpha tossed them off to the side, but disappointed that Sasuke had pulled off of his overly sensitive neck.

"And here I half expected panties" Sasuke teased when Naruto's offensively bright orange boxer briefs were revealed.

It was like he was running on autopilot with no verbal filter installed.

Sasuke didn't even get the chance to worry about whether he had crossed a line or not before Naruto let out a breathy laugh.

Normally his insecurities would've made him jump down someone's throat at the jab, but actually getting to hear Sasuke tell a joke made him croon.

Naruto was fairly certain that there were few people out there that Sasuke joked around with, and it made him feel irrationally special.

"I don't usually wear those until the second date. Gotta see if it's worth it or not" Naruto said as he flung himself backward so that he was laying down, giving Sasuke quite the beautiful view.

Naruto expected for Sasuke to just laugh it off or smirk, but his eyes somehow managed to get even darker, almost appearing a deep red for a moment.

"You're serious?" Sasuke growled as he hovered over Naruto, leaving just barely enough space between their lips to allow speaking.

Naruto's eyes widened when Sasuke's scent got stronger, much stronger.

He damn near smelled like an alpha in rut.

Naruto licked his lips nervously and let out a small smirk, finding it amusing at how much Sasuke seemed to like the idea.

"I can guarantee it'll be worth it" Sasuke said, almost like it was a promise, as he ripped himself away from Naruto to rid him of the garish orange fabric.

Naruto was blindsided.

In the time that it took for him to register what Sasuke had actually said, his underwear was nowhere to be seen and Sasuke had his impossibly hard dick at the back of his throat.

_How the hell did I ever think that this man was straight!?_

Naruto gasped when Sasuke deep throated him with expertise.

Sure, Sasuke was larger, but Naruto wasn't small by any means, and Sasuke was having no problem whatsoever.

_Of course he would be good at sucking dick, fucker seems like he’s good at everything!_

Naruto didn't know what to do with himself. Sasuke's mouth was letting out obscene sounds from his addictive technique.

He was just sloppy enough to fuel Naruto's ego, but his tongue and the pressure from his lips had a deathly precision.

Naruto had fistfulls of the ridiculously soft black comforter as he arched his back.

"Holy shit, Sasuke!" Naruto breathed out when Sasuke twisted his tongue just right.

Suddenly Sasuke pulled off, his breathing somehow more ragged than Naruto's.

"Where the fu-" the question died on Naruto's tongue when Sasuke sauntered over to the nightstand and opened the top drawer.

"Do I need a condom?" Sasuke asked, his voice lower than Naruto had ever heard it.

He looked like he was barley holding on, his alpha side taking over with his growing desire.

His eyes betrayed him though. Naruto could tell that he was making sure Naruto was okay with being fucked raw, but the blonde could tell that he was also desperate to knot.

Almost as desperate as Naruto was to truly feel all of Sasuke.

Naruto's previous sex ed teachers could chastise him for it later, but he trusted Sasuke and knew that he, himself was clean.

"Just fuck me" Naruto groaned out in frustration, egging Sasuke's alpha on.

That was all of the convincing that Sasuke needed apparently, because he snatched what Naruto assumed was lube out of the drawer and didn't even bother to close it before resuming his previous position.

He eagerly took Naruto's length back into his mouth, and Naruto was back in a lust clouded state of bliss.

He allowed Sasuke to push his legs further apart, Sasuke draping one of Naruto's legs over his shoulder.

Naruto was more than enjoying himself, but he was growing more and more impatient with each delicious move of Sasuke's tongue.

Those impairment thoughts were quickly silenced when he felt a cold, slick finger slide down over his hole.

Naruto let out a moan at the unexpected sensation, a moan that went straight to Sasuke's dick.

Sasuke circled it for a moment as he continued laving Naruto's shaft with attention, but then Naruto let out a whine and pushed his hips down to get Sasuke to stop teasing him.

He wanted the pleasure that only came with being filled, even if it would only be a finger to start.

Sasuke flicked his eyes up and Naruto's breath caught in his throat.

His eyes looked fierce and wild.

Naruto could've sworn he even saw him smirk.

_Even with a dick in his mouth, the fucker still can't resist flashing that dammed smirk!_

Sasuke raised a challenging eyebrow as he began putting some pressure behind the prodding digit.

As Sasuke began working his finger in, he couldn't believe how tight Naruto was, trying desperately to think of anything else to fight down the urge to get that tight heat around his aching cock right away.

Naruto gasped and arched his back when he felt Sasuke’s long finger finally enter him.

Sasuke began applying more pressure with his mouth as he slowly worked his finger to distract Naruto from the discomfort that Sasuke assumed he’d be experiencing.

Sure, there was a slight sting, but other than that, Naruto was on cloud fucking nine. He didn’t know what he wanted to do more; buck up into Sasuke’s unfairly perfect mouth, or fuck himself down on the alpha’s finger.

Sasuke worked his finger, and thanks to him having ridiculously long fingers, he had found the sensitive bundle of nerves that was Naruto’s prostate without even really having to try.

“Holy shit, yes! More, Sasuke! Please!” Naruto cried out in a hushed whimper.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in what appeared to be slight amusement, but he was honestly just caught a little off guard.

It had been years since he’d been with a man, only one of which was an omega, but even then, he’d never experienced a partner so eager and responsive. They were usually intimidated when he dropped trou, but not Naruto.

Sasuke was more than happy to have revealed this rather slutty side of a man that appeared so innocent.

Sasuke doubted he’d ever be able to deny a request from Naruto when he looked and sounded the way that he did when he’d begged for more. Hell, he’d probably hand over his credit card information and social security number if the intoxicating blonde asked him to do so.

The Uchiha obliged and began stretching Naruto at a quicker rate, since he’d thankfully gotten the go ahead to be less gentle. He was soon up to two fingers, which allowed him much easier access to that spot that had Naruto crying out.

Naruto let out a choked moan when Sasuke curled his fingers right as he took all of Naruto’s length in, but the blonde instantly draped his arm over his mouth and bit down on it in an attempt to keep quiet.

Something about the action pumped even more of Sasuke’s blood south, but another part of it irritated him.

Sasuke pulled off of Naruto. Before he could even fully catch his breath, his mouth was right up against the sensitive shell of Naruto’s ear, his fingers not stilling for even a second.

“The walls are thick, and this is the only bedroom on this floor. Don’t try and keep quiet” Sasuke bit out, displeased that he was being deprived of the lovely sounds that he had more than earned.

Naruto whimpered as a third finger was added, but nodded nonetheless after removing his arm from his flushed face.

He bit his lip, still paranoid of waking one of the kids, and saw that Sasuke still wasn’t satisfied with his response, as if his insistent prodding at his prostate hadn’t been enough of indicator.

Naruto was slowly losing his damn mind at the hands of the other alpha, and pulled him in for a kiss right as he let out a drawn out moan that was anything but quiet.

Sasuke smirked against Naruto’s swollen lips.

_That’s more like it._

“There you go, such a good omega” Sasuke rumbled out, his voice unrecognizable, even to himself.

Naruto let out another moan and kissed Sasuke for all of his worth.

Sasuke had no control over what fell out of his mouth at this point, but he was yet again shocked when Naruto didn’t throw him off of him.

Up until that point, Sasuke had only said he was like an omega, he hadn’t actually called him one.

But Naruto clearly didn’t mind.

The praise paired with the skilled movements of Sasuke’s fingers were obviously just what the blonde desired to hear.

“Fuck Sasuke, stop! I’m gonna cum, I’m gonna cum!” Naruto desperately cried out as he dug his nails into the muscles of Sasuke’s back.

As enticing as the thought of Naruto cumming strictly from his fingers was, Sasuke needed to be inside of him when he came, desperate to feel his muscles spasming around him.

Sasuke withdrew his fingers as gently, yet as urgently as he could, reveling in the unabashed whine Naruto let out when he was no longer full.

Sasuke would normally be worried that Naruto needed more prep, but there was no way either of them could stand to wait any longer.

Before Naruto’s eyes could even refocus from being so close to cumming, Sasuke had managed to lube his impossibly hard length up and sink himself into Naruto in one fluid thrust of his hips.

Naruto latched onto Sasuke as he arched his back and let out a choked scream, his eyes going wide from the burn and insane amount of pleasure shooting up his spine.

“You’re so tight” Sasuke groaned out against Naruto’s neck.

He let out a deep moan as he felt Naruto constrict him in the best way imaginable, shocked at how vocal he was being.

Not that he gave two shits, with Naruto wrapped around him, he couldn’t possibly care about anything else.

Sasuke ground into Naruto a few times in an attempt to give him some time to adjust, but was rapidly losing his resolve.

“God, fuck, Sasuke. Move, please move” Naruto begged after a few moments, the constant pressure so deep inside of him that it had his vision blurring.

Sasuke silently thanked whoever was looking out for him up there and pulled his hips back about halfway, mercilessly snapping them forward again.

Naruto just moaned in approval as his nails dug even harder into Sasuke’s back, and his toned legs wrapped around Sasuke’s waist.

“Like that, Naruto?” He growled out as he did it again, already knowing the answer.

Sasuke could feel Naruto nodding, but outside of the obscene moans, nothing left Naruto’s sinful mouth.

After a few more slow, but powerful thrusts and still not getting his desired response, Sasuke resorted to teasing the blonde with shallow thrusts.

Sasuke didn’t know why, but he needed to hear that he was making Naruto feel good; he craved it.

“No no no no no!” Naruto whined desperately.

“Please, Sasuke! Harder! Wreck me!” Naruto begged.

If there was any part of Sasuke still present, it was gone when he heard that.

He pulled out of Naruto and flipped him over at a surprising speed.

He snaked his arm under Naruto’s stomach and yanked him up, leaving Naruto on his hands and knees, completely at Sasuke’s mercy, a thought that had the Uchiha letting out a pleased growl.

Sasuke guided himself back up to Naruto’s twitching opening, with one of his legs propped up, and slammed into him at a selfish pace.

Naruto didn’t mind one bit.

The blonde alpha’s arms immediately gave out, forcing his head into the pillows and his back to drastically arch.

“This more of what you had in mind?” Sasuke growled out as he gripped Naruto’s hips and pistoned in and out of him at a breakneck pace.

“Fuck yes, alpha!” Naruto cried out as Sasuke hit his prostate dead on with each powerful thrust thanks to the new position.

Sasuke couldn’t possibly go any faster, but he was going harder and somehow managing to go deeper with each thrust.

Naruto couldn’t breath, Sasuke was fucking him so deeply that he wouldn’t be shocked if the man’s dick was pressing up against his damn larynx.

But when Sasuke would hit that spot with every thrust, Naruto figured that oxygen was a fair trade off for the insurmountable pleasure coursing through him.

Naruto was in a frenzy and desperate to cum, so he trailed his hand down to grip his neglected erection, but then Sasuke gave his hardest thrust yet.

Naruto screamed and was pushed up towards the headboard from the sheer force of it.

“If you’re enough of a slut to cum from just my fingers, I want to see you cum from just my cock” Sasuke demanded as he pulled on Naruto’s hair to turn his head to the side.

He folded himself over Naruto and met his lips in a filthy kiss before pulling back to fuck into the alpha laying out underneath him.

Even omega’s tended to have a hard time cumming simply from internal stimulation, and Sasuke thought it’d be the hottest thing he’d ever witness if Naruto could actually do it. Even if he couldn’t, Sasuke would still get to hear him plead and beg for release. It was a no lose situation for the Uchiha.

Naruto just moaned in response as he retracted his hand and began meeting Sasuke’s thrusts, causing him to go just that much deeper.

It only took a few minutes of unrestrained moans and frantic hips for both alphas to get close to their releases.

Naruto honestly hadn’t been sure that he’d be able to fulfill Sasuke’s order at first, never cumming untouched before, but then he felt the familiar and undeniable tightening in his stomach. When he felt Sasuke’s knot against his hole, he knew that he’d be able to do it.

“Fuck, Sasuke! I-I’m close! Don’t stop, don’t fucking stop!” Naruto cried out as he slammed his hips back into Sasuke’s.

_Thank fucking god!_

Sasuke had been holding off his orgasm basically since he’d gotten inside of Naruto, and he doubted that sheer willpower would be helping much longer, not when Naruto tightened around him like he did.

“Fuck, I need to knot, Naruto” Sasuke groaned out, his hips starting to stutter.

Sasuke would like to think that he was asking Naruto’s permission, but he wasn’t too proud to recognize that it was simply just a warning.

He couldn’t stop himself if he’d tried. It’d have to be up to Naruto to push him off if he objected, hence the desperate warning.

Sasuke had only ever knotted Sakura twice, obviously, but the one omega he’d been with, he’d pulled out before cumming, not wanting to risk a pregnancy.

The betas he’d been with just outright refused due to his already intimidating length, but each time Sasuke hadn’t minded all that much.

Naruto was different, if he wouldn’t allow it, Sasuke didn’t know if he’d be able to stand it.

Luckily for the Uchiha, Naruto was more than on board with the idea.

“Knot me, Sasuke! Please! Make me cum on your knot!” Naruto moaned out.

Sasuke snapped his hips forward with a low moan as he threw his head back when he felt his knot finally enter Naruto’s tight ass.

Naruto screamed when he felt Sasuke knot him and start to fill him as Sasuke ground into him.

“Cum for me, Naruto. Taking my knot so well, such a good omega. Pumping you full of my-” Sasuke growled as he pressed his knot into Naruto’a prostate _hard_.

Before Sasuke could get the final word out, Naruto tightened like a vice around him.

“I-I’m cumming, I’m fucking cumming!” Naruto screamed out as he did just that, shooting his load right onto the formerly pristine black comforter.

Apparently Naruto’s knees had said ‘fuck you’ to him sometime during what seemed like his never ending orgasm, because when he opened his eyes again, he was laying flat on his stomach with Sasuke draped over him.

Both alphas were breathing heavily, but Sasuke was even worse off, seemingly still in an alpha-like trance as he ground into Naruto every now and again.

It wasn’t the most pleasant sensation at first, due to his oversensitivity, but that quickly changed when Naruto could smell nothing but him and Sasuke, surrounding them like a thick fog.

“Easy there, I may just want to go again” Naruto breathed out with a small chuckle, not really able to do much else with the significant weight still on his back.

Suddenly Sasuke came back to the realm of the living, pressing himself up off of Naruto with his arms, mindful of the fact that they were still tied.

“Shit, sorry about that” Sasuke said, still sounding somewhat spaced out.

Naruto just let out a laugh now that he could properly breath again as he allowed Sasuke to reposition them while they waited for his knot to go down.

-

“I knew it” Naruto said with a sleepy smirk as he laid in protest on Sasuke’s bed.

Sasuke insisted on taking off his comforter and replacing it with a large blanket, but Naruto was satisfied and comfortable.

“Knew what?” Sasuke said, his face stoic once more, but his raised brow and soft eyes betrayed his emotional mask.

“It’s always the proper guys that are rough” Naruto said smugly.

Sasuke just let out a low chuckle as he slid on a loose pair of pajama pants.

Sasuke couldn’t say whether Naruto was right or not. He’d never experienced sex like that before, never having lost control that way.

“Wish I could say that I had you pegged too, but I didn’t expect the wholesome daycare teacher to have such a penchant for dirty talk. Now move” Sasuke said in a good natured tone as he pulled at the now soiled comforter.

Naruto just laughed through a yawn as he begrudgingly rolled off the bed with about as much grace as a newborn baby deer.

The blonde began looking around for his clothes, figuring he could save the panic attack for the car ride home, but the last thing that he wanted to do was leave.

He worried that if he left Sasuke to think about what the hell had just happened, that he’d regret it and then that’d be it.

Sasuke had pulled the comforter off and tossed it in his closet, and unlocked his door to go out into the main part of the house.

He returned right as Naruto was stepping into his jeans, holding an enticing looking fuzzy blanket.

“I’m not gonna kick you out” Sasuke said, his tone guarded to hide the fact that it was him not so vaguely asking the blonde to stay, at least for a little while.

“I don’t know how good of an idea that is” Naruto said, clearly not happy with needing to be responsible.

The last thing that Sarada needed was to see Naruto exiting her father’s bedroom in the morning, after he’d just told her that he was not going to be her new mommy.

“I can’t stay overnight for obvious reasons, but I will for a little. But only if you cuddle with me” Naruto said after mulling it over.

This would probably wind up in nothing but headache, so he figured he might as well enjoy it while he could.

Sasuke just looked at him as he paused in laying the blanket out on the bed.

“I don’t cuddle” he deadpanned.

Naruto was almost hurt for a moment, but then that smirk pulled at the corner of Sasuke’s still swollen lips.

Naruto instantly beamed.

“Well you do for the next hour! Just a heads up, I like being the little spoon” Naruto said, clearly teasing Sasuke.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes as Naruto tossed the pants in his hands back off to the side.

“There’s no shame in cuddling, y’know. I won’t think any less of y-“ Naruto’s teasing had been cut short when Sasuke tossed a pair of pajama pants at his face.

“Heeey!”

-

Naruto woke up with a jolt when he felt someone stir from where they were curled up against his chest, as one who almost always sleeps alone would.

He blinked his eyes open, but before they could even focus, he knew where he was.

The dark, mahogany like scent surrounding him told him that he was still at Sasuke’s.

_Fuck! We fell asleep!_

He hoped that it was still early enough for him to make a getaway without Sarada seeing him, but then he took notice of the small bundle that was currently cuddled up against him.

Then it all came rushing back to him.

He remembered halfway waking up when he felt something brush his legs at around one in the morning. 

He blearily lifted his head to see Sarada crawling up the bed with a small red blanket clutched against her.

He had just blinked at her, not really registering that this was exactly what he had wanted to avoid.

She crawled up to the top and shimmied herself under the blanket between Naruto and Sasuke.

She wordlessly cuddled up to Naruto and tucked herself in against his chest, and without even thinking about it, he draped his arm over her and was out like a light once again.

He knew that he had complicated an already fucked up situation when Sarada began rubbing at her eyes and stirring.

Naruto didn’t know what to do. He froze up, hoping that she would just fall right back asleep so that he could slip out of the house undetected, but then she sat up.

She yawned and stretched her little arms out as she looked around, almost like she was in the same boat as Naruto had been when he’d first woken up.

Then, without an ounce of surprise on her face, she looked right at Naruto.

“Can we make pancakes for breakfast, Naru?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! So sorry about the longer than normal break!
> 
> 2020 has been a bullshit year that just loves pilling on the bullshit.  
> I was super busy, but I am back!(:
> 
> Due to having to write this in so many different parts, it’s not exactly what I was hoping, but I hope it isn’t too bad!
> 
> As always, please let me know what you think and what you’d like to see in the next few chapters(:
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!<3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will these idiots ever figure their shit out?  
> Maybe, but not today!

“Naru?” 

Naruto shook his head to snap himself out of his rapidly spiraling thoughts to focus on what had to be the most confused four year old on the planet.

He flashed her a smile to show her that he was paying attention to her, bracing himself for infinite questions.

“Pancakes? Can we make them? Please?” She asked with heart clenchingly adorable hopefulness.

Naruto was shocked that she didn’t seem the least bit surprised to find him in her father’s bed. She was acting like this was an everyday occurrence.

Her biggest concern was pancakes.

The mind of a kid is a wild thing.

He let out a sigh of relief and ran his hands over his face to fully wake himself up.

“Pancakes? Let’s go see what we can do” Naruto chuckled out groggily as he untangled his limbs from the blanket.

The second that he was up, Sarada was dragging him across the room and practically throwing him into the living room.

He hadn’t even been given the chance to feel the slight pang that should have accompanied waking up without Sasuke, thanks to not actually being alone.

Naruto had never had that before; never been given the chance to avoid over analyzing every minute detail. All because of Sarada wanting pancakes.

_Is this what having kids feels like?_

He couldn’t ignore the fact that his mind didn’t go straight towards the negative like usual. In that moment there had been too much good to think about all of the potential bad.

“Daddy!” Sarada squealed when they entered the living room.

That got Naruto’s attention. 

His eyes instantly rid themselves of the fuzziness that came from having just woken up, to see Sasuke sitting at the dinning room table as he spooned what looked to be oatmeal into Ren’s already covered face.

“Well, good morning” Sasuke said, his voice sounding the slightest bit huskier than usual. Probably due to the fact that he didn’t look like he’d been awake for very long either.

“Do we has pancake stuff!?” Sarada asked with an ungodly amount of energy for it only being-

_Six thirteen in the fucking morning!? On a Saturday!?_

Naruto was suddenly rethinking all of his previous wishing for children, but then Ren babbled something incoherently and he was sucked right back in.

“Probably, let me finish feeding your brother and I’ll go take a look” Sasuke said through a yawn.

Sasuke hadn’t spared Naruto so much as a glance at this point, and the blonde alpha was starting to take it as his cue to exit stage left.

He really hoped that Sasuke wasn’t pissed that he’d passed the hell out and wound up spending the night. 

But then Sasuke chose that moment to look at Naruto.

There was no soft smile or heart eyes, just a roving glance and a smirk. But why did it still manage to make the other alpha’s heart stutter?

Maybe because that was as good as a smile when dealing with Sasuke, or maybe it was because Sasuke didn’t feel the need to address Naruto staying over at all? Maybe it felt just as unexpectedly normal to the Uchiha as it did to Naruto?

Naruto just let out a nervous chuckle, trying to figure out exactly what he should do.

Sure, he and Sasuke needed to talk, but he also didn’t want to overstep, well, overstep any further than he already had.

“Naru has to make them though, daddy” Sarada said resolutely. 

She then walked over to Naruto and held on to his hand.

“Daddy burned them last time we made pancakes” she said to Naruto.

Naruto just let out a laugh, fully believing that Sasuke simply was not the type to be well versed in the more domestic aspects of life.

“Well then, it’s a good thing I’m here! I happen to be a world class pancake flipper” Naruto said as he crouched down to be level with the eldest of the Uchiha children.

She giggled when Naruto playfully ticketed her side as Sasuke got up to go search for the pancake mix.

He may have decided to go on the hunt at that particular moment simply because he had a hard time containing his small but genuine smile, or maybe he just really liked pancakes.

Either way, a small, almost imperceptible grin plastered itself across his face as soon as he entered the pantry, his eyes landing right on the box of overly sweet syrup sponges that he detested.

-

“I’m sorry about falling asleep. I didn’t mean to” Naruto rushed out the second that Sarada had fallen asleep. 

Ren was still passed out on his chest and Sarada had fallen asleep stretched out across both of their legs as they watched a movie about singing trolls that Naruto had gotten embarrassingly invested in.

Naruto had made good on his promise to make pancakes, but then Sarada managed to rope him into multiple games of hide-and-seek, and a multitude of other activities until now.

Sasuke didn’t seem to mind one bit that Naruto ended up staying much later than they’d both originally planned on, he actually found it rather amusing.

Every time Sarada requested a different game for them to play, Naruto would look over at Sasuke all worried, clearly anxious that he might be overstaying his welcome, but each time Sasuke just sent him that signature smirk.

The Uchiha was more than happy to deal with a little bit more noise than he was used to if it meant that he got to see his daughter this happy.

Plus, prolonging Naruto’s visit wasn’t _not_ a perk.

“It’s not an issue. I’m sure Sarada just thinks we had a sleepover” Sasuke replied.

“Oh come on. She may just be a kid, but she’s a smart kid” Naruto said, determined to not let Sasuke dismiss the severity of the situation just because nothing ever seemed to bother him.

“I’ll talk to her and make sure that she knows that you aren’t her mother. I don’t want it causing more issues for you at work, alright?” Sasuke said, sounding the slightest bit on edge.

It’s not that he wanted Naruto to sign adoption papers or anything to that degree, but he was irritated at how adamant Naruto was about keeping things so separated.

Sasuke was a very logical man, and he knew why it would make sense to clearly set certain boundaries, but still.

When he saw Naruto with his daughter this morning, it just clicked.

At first he’d been a little peeved off that his own daughter had chosen to cuddle up with Naruto over him, but then he actually took a moment to appreciate the admittedly adorable sight. 

Naruto just fit.

It was as simple as that; he fit into their lives as if he’d never not been a part of it.

The thought of what that truly implied scared Sasuke shitless, so he focused on how happy Naruto made his daughter.

Sure, he made Sasuke happy as well, an emotion that he’d never been entirely familiar with, but he was being a stereotypically stubborn Uchiha about it and refused to admit that fact to himself.

“I just don’t want her to end up worse off. With all that is going on right now, I’m sure you’re not wanting to jump right into something. I won’t be offended or anything” Naruto said, trying his best to remove his foot from his mouth.

Lies. All of it was a gargantuan lie. He’d be offended, he’d be absolutely crushed, but in the end he’d have no one to blame but himself.

He was the genius that went and slept with and caught feelings for a man that was technically still married, whose children attended his daycare facility, and had the emotional range of a coma patient.

_Way to fucking go, Naruto._

Naruto could see that Sasuke was guarded once again, his walls back in place at full force. 

Naruto didn’t want to offend him, but he didn’t want Sasuke to think that he was clingy either. Sasuke very much seemed to be the type to avoid being tied down, minus the whole forced marriage situation.

“And why is it that you always seem to think so little of me?” Sasuke asked, his tone clipped and his jaw clenched.

_Aaaand he’s offended. Great._

“It’s not th-“ Naruto had started up to try and fix his apparent fuck up, but thankfully Sasuke had stopped him.

He would normally take offense to someone doing something as rude as putting up their hand to silence him, but he honestly had no plan for what he was about to say, so it was probably for the best.

“I’ll go put her down in her room. Would you mind putting Ren in his so we can talk without having to worry about waking them up?” Sasuke asked, already maneuvering Sarada around so that he could stand up and grab her.

He didn’t even wait for Naruto’s answer before he’d scooped up his daughter with practiced ease and was walking up the stairs.

Naruto saw the logic behind it, and used the time to figure out what would be the best thing to say, but when he’d sat down across from Sasuke at the dinning room table after putting Ren down in his crib, he still had absolutely nothing.

“Its not that I think poorly of you!” Naruto rushed out when Sasuke looked like he was about to say something. 

Sasuke just shut his mouth and waited for Naruto to continue, but when all he did was fidget like a nervous child, he became impatient.

“Then why have you looked like you thought that I’d kick you out at every turn this morning?” Sasuke asked dryly.

“Well, why wouldn’t you?” Naruto asked, genuinely curious as to why Sasuke needed that question to be answered.

“Why would I?” Sasuke asked right back as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, regarding Naruto with an unreadable look in his eyes.

Naruto could now truly see why Sasuke was so successful at such a young age for the corporate world; he knew how to get people to talk while he offered up absolutely nothing in return. 

“I’m a man, an alpha, your kids daycare teacher, and you’re not even divorced yet?” Naruto said, listing off only a fraction of the reasons of why he thought that he’d be asked to leave like they were obvious.

“I just know that Sarada is in a weird place right now, and I can see how protective you are of her, so is it really that crazy for me to think you wouldn’t want me hanging around after she crawled into your bed with me still in it?” Naruto continued after Sasuke had only slowly blinked at him.

One night stands were more than a common occurrence for most adults, so that paired with all of the other factors should have made this a no brainer.

“And you being around has been more beneficial for her than anything else I could’ve thought” Sasuke said, breezing right over all of the other valid points that Naruto had made, apparently deeming them insignificant.

“I’m not some quick fix for your daughter, Sasuke. No matter how much I may care about her” Naruto said, clearly the one being offended now.

He didn’t like the thought that Sasuke only kept him around because he was willing to be fucked and because his kid liked him.

The blonde’s insecurities wouldn’t allow him to take Sasuke’s emotional handicap into consideration to see the deeper meaning behind the other alpha’s words.

Sasuke let out a sigh and uncrossed his arms as he leaned forward the slightest bit.

“That’s not the only reason. I’d simply stick her in therapy if I didn’t want you here as well. I am through with simply tolerating things” Sasuke said pointedly.

Naruto just looked at him dumbfounded.

_Is that Sasuke speak for ‘I actually sort of like you?!’_

“So you don’t care if Sarada knows that you and I know each other in a less than professional capacity?” Naruto asked.

“No, I don’t. I do think that it is smart to establish that you are not replacing her mother, but I don’t see why it would cause any issues otherwise” Sasuke replied.

Naruto let out a relieved sigh and released the tension from his body, but brought it all right back with Sasuke’s next words.

“But you do make a valid point, I am in the process of getting out of a forced marriage and it probably isn’t very wise to jump right into anything” Sasuke said, using Naruto’s own words against him.

“Makes sense” Naruto said, not allowing himself to sound as dejected as those words made him feel.

It made sense, but just because it made sense, didn’t mean that it was what Naruto wanted to hear.

“That doesn’t mean that I want things between us to stop, though” Sasuke said, leaning back once again.

Naruto couldn’t stand the drastic highs and lows that every other sentence out of Sasuke’s unfairly perfect mouth were making him feel. He literally just wanted a straight forward, unambiguous answer on where the fuck they stood.

“So you’re wanting me as a booty call? A friend? What is it that you want from me, Sasuke?” Naruto asked, sounding more hostile than he’d have preferred.

Sasuke didn’t even bat an eye at Naruto’s tone, he just sat there and thought about his answer for a moment.

“At the moment I can’t really say, but for me that is basically an answer” Sasuke said with a shrug. 

_So he’s fucking speaking in riddles now!?_

“And that means...?” Naruto prompted.

“It means that if I didn’t care about where we stood, that would mean that what happened last night should never happen again, but I don’t feel that way” Sasuke stated.

“So you just don’t want a label?” Naruto said, suppressing an eye roll.

Really? Who the hell hasn’t heard that line before?

“I don’t think it’d be wise for either of us to jump straight into a relationship with one another. I would think that knowing one another better would be important, but I would like to see how that goes first. I enjoy having you here, as do the kids, so I see no use in separating the two, but if that is not something you would be interested in, then I would have no choice but to respect your decision” Sasuke answered.

Well there it was, clear as could be, laid out for Naruto in black and white, yet he still wasn’t entirely satisfied with the answer.

It had been too formal, too analytical, too fake.

He had seen glimpses of what Sasuke could be like, and it wasn’t this monotonous robot that he was speaking to.

Naruto had always been of the ‘all or nothing’ mentality, so if he was going to risk jumping into even deeper waters with Sasuke, he needed to know he wasn’t the only one vulnerable.

“Can you drop the big shot CEO act for three fucking seconds?” Naruto bit out.

Sasuke’s eyes widened a little, not expecting such an unexpected reaction.

He’d just told Naruto that he had the beginnings of feelings for him, had he not? And now he was upset?

“Youre doing that thing where you sound like a drone just spouting out data! Get angry, get happy, get fucking sad, just get something! I’ve seen you do it, so I know you can, but if you honestly expect me to risk any more than I already have for whatever the hell _this_ is, while you sound like you couldn’t care less, than you’re smoking fucking crack” Naruto said, finally boiling over.

“That’s just the way I talk!” Sasuke said, startled by the drastic change in Naruto’s demeanor.

“See! You just did it! That may be the way you talk during boring ass board meetings, but it shouldn’t be how you talk with someone you might care for” Naruto said.

“I-I do care for you?” Sasuke said, sounding painfully unsure.

Naruto just scoffed at the lack luster response.

“I didn’t mean it like that. You can obviously see that I don’t do emotions and what not, but I do care, that’s the only reason why I kissed you the night that Sakura barged in” Sasuke rambled out.

Naruto was glad to have finally gotten somewhere. Sasuke no longer had his usual stuffy aura about him, he was unsure and stumbling over his words, which meant it was what he actually felt.

When it came down to actually verbalizing his feelings, Sasuke was completely clueless. Since he didn’t know how to properly deal with them, he couldn’t analyze them, and without analyzing them, he couldn’t craft the perfect speech.

“I don’t do spontaneous. I like well thought out plans, but when you were ready to just walk out and never come back here, I panicked. I never panic, so I figured it had to be worth a shot, and I’m glad it was. I see you with my kids and don’t even think twice about it, I’m not saying that I want you to be their mother or anything, but I am saying that I would like it if you stuck around to see where things go” Sasuke said, struggling to maintain eye contact after such a raw admission.

Sasuke half expected for Naruto to blow up on him again, because even though that had felt like an awful lot of emotion to Sasuke, simply smiling felt like a lot to him.

His standards for ‘passion’ were obviously not up to par with most people’s.

But then Naruto smiled, not that blinding one that had first caught Sasuke’s eye, but that soft, genuine one that Sasuke had only gotten the pleasure of seeing last night. The one he got when he felt safe and accepted.

“Are you trying to tell me that you actually like me a little bit?” Naruto teased as his grin grew more mischievous.

As much as Naruto had wanted to get a genuine reaction out of Sasuke, he also regretted getting just what he’d asked for.

It’d been a little too real for someone with trust issues as big as his, so he needed to lighten the mood up a bit.

Thankfully Sasuke was right there with him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat back, looking much more relaxed than he had when they’d first sat down at the table.

“I’m saying that I don’t dislike you. Take it or leave it” Sasuke teased dryly.

“If it means I can get laid like last night again, I’ll take it I guess” Naruto said, his mischievous grin now a full blown smirk that rivaled even Sasuke’s.

Sasuke just raised one of his perfect eyebrows in mock challenge at the sudden shift in conversation, more than pleased with where they’d ended up.

“You guess?” Sasuke said, his voice an octave lower than before.

_Oh believe me, I fucking know._

“Yeah, I mean it was good, but I feel like you were still holding out on me” Naruto teased with a shrug.

That is what lead to Sasuke quite literally fucking the smirk off of Naruto’s face as many times as he could before the kids woke up from their naps.

Which was three times in case anyone was wondering.

-

‘Why are you still doing favors for that duck head?!’

Well, that hadn’t been the text that he’d expected from his sister.

‘If I knew what a duck head was, I might actually know what you were talking about’ was the response that he sent back.

Not but thirty seconds later, a mass of red hair was barging into his office with a scary amount of force from such a small person.

“My phone auto corrected dickhead to duck head, but both work since the back of his hair does look like a duck’s ass. Now cut the shit and answer the question” she said as she closed the door behind her and locked it.

“Karin, you have to go back to your classroom” Naruto said, trying to avoid having to answer her question.

He knew that she would _not_ like his answer.

“Oh, they’re all asleep for their naps. Ino and Ten Ten are more than capable” Karin said as she waived her hands dismissively.

“Yeah, because that is how state mandated ratios work” he said, continuing to stall.

“The sooner you stop fucking around and give me an actual answer, the sooner I can go back to maintain your precious ratios” she said, using a mocking tone for the last two words.

“I heard Ino whispering to Ten Ten about how she’s seen ‘the hottie’ just waltzing into your office lately and about how the Uchiha kids have been leaving with you for the past two Fridays!” She said, clearly not messing around anymore.

“I thought that you were done with that prick after you found out what he was really like and now he feels comfortable enough to just walk right in to your office and your watching his kids after hours again?!” Karin finished, taking in a long breath after her ranting.

Naruto felt bad about keeping his sister out of the loop after barging into her house that night to drown his sorrows and gave her no choice but to listen to him bitch and moan about the very same man that he was now somewhat involved with, but this was precisely why.

He knew that his sister was far too protective of him to ever give someone the benefit of the doubt and allow them to have a second chance.

You know that saying ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me’? Well, for Karin, the saying goes ‘Fool me once and it’s a big fuck you, buddy’.

He knew that she meant well, but he was a big boy and could make his own decisions.

_Probably._

“He explained everything to me. He’s not getting back with his ex, and everything else made sense too. I can make my own choices, Karin” Naruto said.

“I’m sure he said that he’s not” she said with a scoff.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Karin” Naruto replied.

He knew that it’d probably be the easiest solution to just tell her about the conversation that he’d had with Sasuke, but he also knew that it wasn’t his place to do so.

Sasuke was quite obviously a very private person, and it was also obvious that he wasn’t all that fond of his sister, so Naruto very much doubted that Sasuke would be okay with him divulging that information to her.

“Naruto, you really think that you can trust a word that this guy says? No one just shows up at their ex’s house thinking that there will be a reconciliation without good reason” she said, sounding much more worried than upset now as she took a seat on the sofa.

“Well she did. You don’t know the half of it, but she’s completely certifiable. He had no choice but to marry her” Naruto said, hoping that would be enough to appease his overbearing sister.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure it was so terrible to be married to the rich and pretty omega” she said, overdoing it on the sarcasm.

She noticed the waiver in her brother’s expression when she insinuated that most alphas go after the pretty omegas.

As much as she wanted to knock some sense into the knucklehead, she didn’t want to hurt him.

The whole point of this was to avoid said knucklehead from getting hurt.

“I’m sorry, you know what I meant. I just don’t want to see you have to go through another Kiba incident” she said, her tone filled with pity.

“Don’t” Naruto said in a clipped tone.

Karin’s eyes widened when she realized her slip up and went to apologize, knowing how sensitive of a subject that was for her brother, but Naruto cut her off before she could start.

“I get why you’re worried, but I believe him. I can’t give you details, because he trusted me to keep it to myself when he told me, but I’m telling you, it all makes sense” he said.

Karin just let out a long sigh.

“Fine, alright. If what he had to say was good enough for you, then there isn’t much that I can do about it. I get why you did it, but if I promise to keep my hatred for the asshole in check, will you promise to actually let me know what is going on?” She asked sincerely.

“No lectures? No ranting? And no threats of bodily harm?” Naruto asked skeptically.

Karin looked at him like she thought he was joking, but when she realized that he was serious she just sighed.

“Fine, I’ll be the prefect lady. But the next time that I have to hear about what is going on in my little brother’s life from my gossip of a coworker, there will be no threat. Just bodily harm” she replied.

Naruto just shook his head and let out a chuckle. That was pretty much the most that he could hope for with Karin.

Besides, he had missed her.

He had found himself wanting to text or call her about what was going on between him and Sasuke so many times the last few weeks, but he hadn’t because of the twos’ blatant distain for each other.

He even had to start lying to her on Saturday’s when she would ask to hang out, seeing as how his Saturday’s were now spent watching children’s movies and playing with Sarada and Ren with Sasuke.

“Now, what is going on?” She asked once again.

“We’re just seeing where things go” Naruto said as he tried to repress his smile by biting down on his lower lip.

Karin was tempted to audibly retch at the sappy smile on her brother’s face, but she somehow held it together.

“So you aren’t ‘official’? And whose idea was that?” She asked, already having a pretty good idea of what the answer would be.

“Both of ours” Naruto said defensively.

It wasn’t entirely a lie. He had technically been the first one to suggest the arrangement, but Sasuke had been the one to outright say that would be what he wanted.

“With everything that he has going on and with how it effects Sarada, we’re just enjoying getting to know each other” Naruto said, realizing just how cliché he sounded.

“Alright, so you’re sort of seeing this guy, but with his kids around?” Karin asked, sounding entirely unconvinced.

“Yeah? I mean Sarada crawled into his bed the first night and saw me, so we saw no use in trying to hide it” Naruto said with a shrug.

“And how long ago was this?” Karin asked.

Naruto took a few too many seconds to respond, knowing that his sister would be upset at finding out just how long he’d been keeping her in the dark.

“Naruto” she said in a warning tone.

“This would be the fourth week” he quickly mumbled out.

“Three weeks?! You’ve kept this from me for the past three weeks!?” She said incredulously.

“Well?! Can you blame me!? You aren’t exactly waiting in line for entry into the Sasuke fan club, now are you?” Naruto said sarcastically.

“That’s not the point Naruto. I’m your sister, your twin fucking sister! You should tell me shit like that, without question!” She said.

“I get why you did it, but from now on, please just tell me” she said, sounding hurt.

“I will. I honestly didn’t even know if there would be anything to tell you about at first. You know I’m not the biggest fan of casual relationships” Naruto said earnestly.

“I know that, which is why I’m worried about this set up. I also know that the only way you’d agree to stick with it is if you really liked this guy” she said with poorly concealed concern and irritation.

Naruto didn’t have a response to that, which told Karin all that she needed to know.

“Look, as much as I might not like the guy, I don’t think he’d have you around his kids after school hours if he wasn’t somewhat serious about wanting the two of you to go somewhere” she sighed out.

She hated to admit that there were actually some redeeming qualities to the guy, but he definitely seemed to care about his children.

She could sense that Naruto was uneasy about the whole situation because he had dove straight in, and she wanted to show him that she had been serious when she said that’s she’d support his decision, no matter how stupid she might’ve thought it was.

Naruto instantly perked up at that.

He was blushing and smiling from ear to ear.

“Thanks, Karin” he said.

When he realized that his sister had truly meant that she’d be in his corner, the flood gates just burst open.

He talked her ear off for the better part of an hour about how great things were going.

He told her about how Sasuke never once made him feel like some sort of weirdo for being the way that he was, he told her about how he loved it when Sasuke would have dinner already started for them when he and the kids got there on Friday nights.

He literally wouldn’t shut up about how he was finally getting to live the life that he’d always wanted, strategically leaving out the fact that there was no official title to his position in that life.

Karin was happy for her brother, she really was.

After his last serious boyfriend, she didn’t think that Naruto would ever be all giddy like this again. It felt good to see someone as kind as Naruto excited for his own life once again, he more than deserved it.

He was planning on leaving out the fact that Sasuke was incredible in bed, but then Karin was back to her normal, crass self.

“Ino, Ten Ten, and Temari have been bouncing theories off each other, so I have to ask. Is he rough, surprisingly gentle, or into some really kinky shit like BDSM?” she asked with a Cheshire Cat smile.

Naruto just laughed, finding it amusing that the very women he had considered his serious competition before, were placing bets on something that he knew the answer to and had first hand experience with.

“What kind of gal do you take me for?” Naruto said as he went back to his blank computer screen to feign work.

“A filthy whore, now c’mon. I said something nice about they guy, something that physically pained me by the way, so I deserve to know” she said.

“I have work to do” he said, typing away at the keys randomly.

“You forget that you have a mirror on the wall behind you, dipshit? I can see your computer is still locked” she said.

“Yes” Naruto said with a chuckle.

“No sex dungeon and he isn’t what I’d call gentle either” was Naruto’s vague response.

“I’ll tell Temari that she was right on the money then” she said smugly, not seeming the least bit surprised.

“Karin-“ Naruto had started in a warning tone before Karin jumped in, already knowing what he was going to say.

“Relax, I’m not gonna go run and tell them. It’s not like I want anyone knowing my brother is sleeping with that dickhead” she scoffed out.

“Thank you” he said with a fond eye roll.

“But I should warn you, there are already rumors circulating. You may want to tell your not boyfriend to be more discrete” she said with a laugh at the look of pure mortification on her brother’s face.

He did not need his employees knowing about the predicament he had gotten himself into, at least not until he had something solid to tell them.

“Just put a sock on the door if he ever makes a ‘visit’ for lunch” she laughed out, loving the crimson tint on his face.

“Go back and restore my precious ratio, you ass” he said as he tossed a pen at her retreating form.

God, he was utterly fucked.

-

“Apparently one of my employees thinks that you’re into some freaky shit” Naruto said after he caught his breath.

Sasuke just let out a throaty chuckle as he plopped down on the bed next to a naked Naruto, mindful of the fact that they were still tied.

“Sorry to disappoint” Sasuke said after catching his breath.

“So no dungeon?” Naruto teased.

“I’ll show you the third floor one day” Sasuke said smugly.

Naruto just turned to look at him with his brows raised.

While he didn’t judge people for whatever they were into, so long as it was consensual, he couldn’t say that it was exactly his cup of tea.

“Relax, no dungeon” Sasuke said with another chuckle.

Naruto just relaxed and scooted himself backwards so that his back was pressed closer into Sasuke’s chest.

“Cuddle me, you duck head” Naruto playfully demanded.

“What’d you just call me?” Sasuke asked, sounding relaxed and amused.

“Don’t worry about it, just cuddle me, damnit” Naruto said, trying to hold in a laugh.

The second he’d seen Sasuke that night, he had to admit that Karin did have a point about his hair, and he’d caught himself laughing about it every once in a while.

“Fine, but you’re making breakfast in the morning” Sasuke grumbled out as he slung his arm over Naruto’s well toned stomach.

He would never admit it, but he has grown to not entirely despise physical affection all that much. It was crazy how much was different when you were actually able to be with someone you didn’t hate.

“I make breakfast every morning on the weekends” Naruto retorted.

“Not my fault that I can’t cook worth a damn” Sasuke said, sounding beyond tired after a long week of working.

“Whatever you say” Naruto said, trying to fight his eyelids that were trying to close.

They needed to stay awake long enough for Sasuke’s knot to go down, so that they could put some pants on before falling asleep. 

As much as Naruto loved waking up with Sarada snuggled up against him, it did have its draw backs.

“Do I seem like the type of guy to have a dungeon or something?” Sasuke asked, sounding amused.

Naruto loved getting to see Sasuke like this. 

He was always much more relaxed and forthcoming after sex.

“I’m not gonna say yes, but I can’t say no either” Naruto said through a yawn as he stretched his arms.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sasuke asked with a raised brow.

“I didn’t expect you to be covered in tattoos, and I thought you were straight at one point, so clearly my Sasuke radar isn’t all that great” Naruto answered.

Sasuke just let out a chuckle at that and lifted his fully sleeved arm that had been resting across Naruto and turned it over as he looked over the designs.

Naruto’s eyes followed every movement of the elegant, yet firm forearm.

“Forget they’re there most of the time” Sasuke said, sounding almost like he’d said it to himself.

“Seriously? You just forget that you’re absolutely covered in them?” Naruto asked in disbelief.

“I was shocked when I first saw them. You didn’t strike me as the type” Naruto said as he traced the outline of what looked like a mask of some sort.

“Eh, I got the one on my shoulder that goes a little up my neck to piss of my father when I turned eighteen. Figured he’d see that a suit wouldn’t cover it and give up on me taking over his company, but he didn’t let up. That’s when I said ‘fuck it’ and decided I’d go into aviation” Sasuke said smugly.

”I liked the feeling, so I just got more and more” Sasuke finished with a shrug, ignoring the warm tingling he felt where Naruto was trailing his finger over his skin.

At first he would just spend the night on Friday nights, but before Sasuke knew it, Naruto was at his house all weekend.

The weird part was that Sasuke hadn’t even really noticed until Sarada brought it up.

She had asked if ‘Naru was spending the weekend with them again’ one day, and that’s how Sasuke came to the realization.

He just never thought twice about Naruto being at his home. It was unnerving.

Naruto had made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want anything serious right away, due to all of Sasuke’s baggage. While it was understandable, Sasuke still wanted the blonde alpha to be his and only his.

He couldn’t let Naruto know that though, he was too proud, which is why he’d lied and blatantly told him that he was looking for something more casual for the time being.

It was driving him insane.

He found himself having to fight down the urge to go all alpha on the blonde more often than not lately, and knowing that Naruto wasn’t looking for something like that at the moment irritated his inner alpha beyond belief.

God, he was utterly fucked.

-

Naruto wasn’t freaking out, not at all. Never.

He was trying to focus on not crashing his damn car for the short duration of the car ride, but he couldn’t keep still and his mind kept wondering to all of the potential outcomes of his bright idea.

Sasuke had called him and asked if it was alright if he picked up the kids around six thirty because he had an important meeting that had suddenly come up.

Naruto had obviously said yes, seeing as how he usually just kept the kids with him on Fridays until he was done and then took them to Sasuke’s since they would all end up there anyway.

It was an easy routine for them, but Ren had been incredibly fussy all day, and he’d been spitting up more than usual according to Karin.

Well, when Naruto had changed him for the second time in thirty minutes, he noticed that the baby was warm to the touch. 

He took his temperature, and while it wasn’t anything too crazy, it was still high.

Naruto wanted to get him a bath and sleeping to see if it would go down.

He was fairly certain that it was just caused by the two teeth that Ren had working their way to the surface, but he wanted to be sure.

If it went down once he got some good rest, Naruto wouldn’t feel bad about bending the rules for his sort of boyfriend’s kid.

The center has a policy that if a child has a fever, they have to stay home and they can’t come back until they are symptom free for twenty four hours without the help of fever reducers.

Naruto knew how busy Sasuke was, so he really didn’t want to have to enforce that policy with Ren, but he also didn’t want to risk any of the other kids in the infant room getting sick.

This train of thought is what lead him to loading Sarada and Ren up into his car to drive to Sasuke’s penthouse.

Due to Naruto taking the kids home on Fridays, and along for other things on the weekends, Sasuke had offered Naruto what he claimed were their extra car seats, so that they didn’t have to worry about switching them out of their cars every time.

It had given Naruto the ultimate illusion of motherhood to look back into the back row of his SUV to see two car seats, and it had made him even more whipped on Sasuke.

There was no way that the car seats had just been extras. Sasuke had told him once that he used to be so uninvolved with the kids that he didn’t even have car seats for them in his car.

That, paired with the fact that Sasuke had forgotten to take one of the tags off of one of them.

He’d bought them specifically for Naruto.

Anyway, he was pulling into the parking garage of Sasuke’s building, which usually didn’t freak him out anymore, but it did today.

This was unplanned and unannounced, and it was on a weekday.

This felt like a new level in their dynamic, and it made Naruto overthink everything about it.

Naruto tried calling Sasuke one last time, but once again it had gone straight to voicemail, which made sense seeing as how he was in a meeting.

Naruto had tried to call him twice now and shot him a text to explain what was going on, so at least he tried.

He just hoped that would be enough for Sasuke to not get pissed off at him for just barging in.

Sasuke was a private man who was fond of routine, and Naruto was disrupting all of that right now.

Naruto had stopped by the front desk for Sasuke’s spare key, Sasuke had given them the go ahead to give Naruto the key whenever it was needed, just in case another situation arose where Sasuke would need to meet them there.

Naruto was in the process of unlocking the door while trying to keep Ren asleep on his shoulder when the door was opened from the inside.

Naruto’s eyes widened when he saw Haku being ushered out by Sasuke.

He froze.

What the fuck was he supposed to think?!

How the hell could he not instantly be hurt and angry!?

Then he remembered overhearing Sasuke asking for Haku’s phone number about a month ago.

“Thank you for coming over, Haku. I’ll be in touch” Sasuke said as he removed his hand from the lower part of Haku’s back. He looked irritatingly comfortable around the omega and Sasuke was talking to Haku with a certain softness in his tone.

A softness that Naruto previously thought had been reserved just for him.

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_

Haku just gave Naruto a polite smile, his cheeks holding a blush that made Naruto’s blood boil as he stepped passed the visibly upset blonde.

Sasuke’s demeanor didn’t even waiver when he turned to Naruto.

“What are you guys doing here? I told you I’d pick the kids up?” He asked as if he hadn’t just been caught red fucking handed.

“Doesn’t matter. Here, he’s running a fever and can’t come back until it’s been gone for twenty four hours” Naruto said dismissively as he handed Ren over to Sasuke.

Naruto made to turn away but then Sasuke grabbed onto his wrist with his free arm.

“Nope. Get inside” Sasuke said, his tone demanding, but his expression pleading. 

Naruto did not want to hear it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoyed the chapter, and I apologize for the somewhat spaced out update, my life is a shit show(((((:
> 
> Anywhooooo, thank you for taking the time to read and as always, I love hearing back from you guys!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haku’s involvement in Sasuke’s life is explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentioned character death, nothing too graphic though.
> 
> If you’re worried that this might upset you, please skip. I’ll be sure to have a brief summary in the beginning notes for the next chapter if needed!

“Nope. Get inside”

Naruto rolled his eyes.

“Get off of me, Sasuke” he said, his tone darker than Sasuke had ever heard it.

“No, not until you come inside. You really want to run away again after last time? Or do you want to come in so we can talk like adults and save us both the headache?” Sasuke said, sounding drained.

Was he drained? Or was he just feeling guilty?

Sure, Naruto had agreed to a casual arrangement between them, but still.

To ask one of your hookups to watch your children so you can see your other one is pretty cruel.

He should have listened to his ever present anxiety when it told him that this was a bad idea.

Then he looked at Sasuke and felt even stupider for having taken the reckless chance.

His eyes looked tired and they were puffy, like he’d been crying.

That stung more than the thought of him sleeping with an unfairly pretty omega did.

Naruto had thought that he was something special to Sasuke for the other alpha to open up to him, but apparently he was just a dime a dozen.

Naruto took a steadying breath and squared his shoulders.

Just because he took it up the ass didn’t mean that he wasn’t capable of standing up for himself.

He knew he was a big guy, and despite being a gentle soul, even he had a breaking point.

“Take your hand off of me” Naruto bit out.

Sasuke hadn’t expected this type of reaction from the blonde.

It was like Naruto’s fight or flight response was going into overdrive. He looked more than ready for a fight.

Sasuke didn’t know how to go about dealing with it.

It was usually as simple as Sasuke doing the same and then having the other back down. He was a powerful alpha, more powerful than most, but he didn’t want to do that with Naruto.

He cared about the dolt.

This was probably why alphas never got romantically involved with other alphas; the alpha instincts.

It was clear that Naruto’s instincts weren’t all that of an omega.

Sasuke loosened his grip on Naruto’s wrist, and Naruto didn’t waste a second before snatching his hand away like Sasuke’s touch revolted him.

Naruto spared Sasuke one last glance, but then he caught sight of Sarada clinging to Sasuke’s slacks for dear life as her lower lip quivered and her eyes teared up.

_Damnit!_

“N-Naru? Don’t go” she squeaked out.

Sasuke had his hand resting on her head to try and reassure her that everything would be okay, but the poor thing looked like her world was falling apart right before her very eyes.

Naruto sighed to try and compose himself before turning around.

He made it a point to completely ignore Sasuke as he crouched down to be eye level with the young Uchiha.

“Hey, it’ll be alright. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He said with a somber smile.

Sure, he’d probably see her tomorrow, and for however many days after that, that it took for Sasuke to find a new daycare, but it was over.

Not just whatever it was that he’d had with Sasuke, but his time with the kids was up as well.

“Please stay” she whispered as she wrapped her little arms around his neck, thinking that she could keep him anchored so that he couldn’t leave.

Naruto just let out another sigh before having to tell her that he couldn’t, but before he could, he heard a different voice.

“Please?” 

Naruto snapped his head up in shock.

Surely he had been mistaken.

There is no way that smooth, deep voice just begged him stay?

Sasuke was just looking straight forward at the wall with his jaw clenched, almost like it caused him physical pain to beg for anything.

Sasuke had just blurted it out as a last ditch effort, but there was no way that he’d be able to look Naruto in the eyes while he did it.

“Stay?” Sasuke said after he’d seen Naruto looking up at him in shock through his peripherals.

Naruto didn’t quite understand why he’d done it.

But he listened.

Against his better judgement, he stayed.

It had been fairly awkward, but at least it didn’t last long.

With Ren being sick and Sarada having had a long day, the kids had an early night.

Naruto took Ren and faught to get him to finally relax, but once his fever had broken, he was out in an instant.

Naruto gently set him down in his crib, keeping his hand on his tummy for a few moments to ensure that he stayed asleep.

Once the coast was clear, he ventured down the stairs.

He honestly didn’t know what he had expected.

Sasuke had been quiet since Naruto finally agreed to come in. It was almost like his mind was somewhere else, which was something Naruto had never seen before.

Sasuke was always alert, as if he were analyzing every little thing, but not tonight. Tonight he was spaced out and running through his routine on autopilot.

Naruto looked around the living room, trying to find Sasuke’s form in the dark room, but he wasn’t there.

The fact that Naruto had grown to expect Sasuke to be waiting for them to fight, after such a short amount of time, was a clear sign that whatever this relationship was, it wasn’t exactly healthy.

It was strange that he was nowhere in sight.

Naruto had stepped off of the final step to start his search in the kitchen, but then he heard a dulled thump and something that sounded like wood snapping?

He followed the sound to its source and wound up in Sasuke’s bedroom.

Everything looked as pristine as it usually did, so Naruto couldn’t think of what could have fallen, but then he heard heavy, uneven breathing.

He turned to see light seeping through the crack in the partially closed door of Sasuke’s closet.

He walked over and gently pushed the door open, eyes going wide at what he saw.

He’d only been in Sasuke’s closet a few times to grab a shirt every now and again, but it was always meticulously organized.

It was a huge walk in closet, but every nook and cranny was always filled with suits, shoes, watches, ties, basically anything anyone could ever need.

It could easily be a retail store.

But not right now.

Clothes had been ripped off of hangers, there were broken hangers littering the floor, and it looked like everything that had once been carefully placed on the shelves had been swiped off in a fit of rage.

Sasuke was taking in shaky breaths from where he now sat on the floor against the back wall.

Naruto was visibly concerned.

He had seen how testy Sasuke could be, but to see the result of him truly losing control was surreal.

Sasuke’s head shot up when he heard Naruto step on a broken hanger to try and reach him.

Naruto had expected to see rage in his eyes, but he just looked lost. Unbelievably sad and lost.

“Can I sit?” Naruto asked gently.

Sasuke regarded him carefully, like a formerly abused animal faced with its first kind gesture.

After a few seconds he just gave a curt nod and hung his head again. It was like his muscles were incapable of supporting the simple weight.

Naruto nestled into the spot next to Sasuke on the floor, finally able to see the entirety of the carnage.

To Naruto’s right was a huge painting that had the ornate wooden frame surrounding it, broken.

_So that had been the snapping sound._

Naruto recognized the edge of the frame as the one he’d seen tucked behind Sasuke’s dress shirts against the wall.

Looking at the pieces of canvas that were still intact, Naruto could gather that it was a portrait of some sort.

There was a large man standing on the side, but the space where his face had once been painted was now host to a fist sized hole.

The canvas had been torn in multiple places, but Naruto could put together bits and pieces of what seemed to be a woman standing next to the faceless man.

The only portion that had been spared was the left quadrant.

Other than the jagged edge from where it’d been separated from the rest, it appeared to be fully intact.

There were two young boys, maybe about ten and thirteen? 

The oldest was standing behind the younger one, with his hands on both of the smaller boy’s shoulders.

They both had dark hair and dark eyes, and Naruto could recognize that impassive face anywhere, even if it was about twenty years older now.

It had to be a young Sasuke.

He still looked the same for the most part, but his eyes weren’t so cold.

They looked like they held and effortless spark, a spark that Naruto usually had to fight tooth and nail to witness.

The older boy looked a lot like Sasuke, just with less vibrant hair and shockingly pronounced smile lines for a boy so young.

It had to be a family portrait.

“What happened?” Naruto asked dumbly.

He didn’t know where to begin with all of this.

Sure he wanted answers as to why the hell Sasuke had lied to him earlier, but he felt that this situation took priority.

Sasuke wasn’t the type to just lose it like this.

Sasuke didn’t respond, which wasn’t all that surprising.

“That you and your brother?” Naruto asked as he gestured to the section of canvas.

When dealing with irate kids, distraction was always the best way to get them talking.

And while Sasuke wasn’t a child, he did have the emotional maturity of one at times.

He figured that even if his brother had something to do with his rage, that asking him anything but ‘why’ was his best shot.

Sasuke slowly lifted his head and let out a huff, but then he nodded.

He closed his eyes and rested his head back on the wall, his breathing finally calm.

“I didn’t know that you have a brother” Naruto said, trying to keep Sasuke responding, even if it was just a silent gesture.

“I did” was all Sasuke said.

Naruto didn’t quiet know what that meant. With what little information he’d learned about Sasuke’s family, it didn’t seem out of the question for them to just cut someone off.

“Itachi. He died about four years ago” Sasuke said after a moment.

_Oh shit._

“I’m sorry” Naruto said.

Pity was definitely in his voice, but it wasn’t just that.

Sasuke always used to hate the way his family members would speak to him when it’d first happened. They all knew how close the two Uchiha brothers were, so they spoke to him as if he were a helpless puppy just because his big brother was gone.

Yeah, Sasuke had idolized his older brother, but he wasn’t going to up and die along with him; he did know how to function as his own person.

The way Naruto said it was different, though.

It held a tone that could only be described as understanding.

Sasuke didn’t know if that pissed him off even more, or if he was still just too upset to distinguish the source. 

All he could think about was his interaction with Haku.

-

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me” Sasuke said as he stepped aside to allow the small omega to step into his house.

Haku just nodded before ducking in with a paranoid quickness.

Once the door was closed, Haku finally raised his head and took a look at his surroundings.

“I take it you’re still doing alright with the planes, then?” He said with a weak smirk.

“Yeah, doing alright” Sasuke said.

There was a looming stiffness to the interaction, but there was a hint of the familiar comfortability from years ago.

“How is Sarada? She’s gotta be what, four now?” Haku said as his eyes landed on a photo of Sarada on a shelf.

“Yeah, she’s good” Sasuke said with a nod as he gestured to the couch.

Haku took the invitation and sat down, but remained rigid.

“Something to drink?” Sasuke asked, trying to make things less uncomfortable.

“Water is fine” Haku said, still looking around to avoid having to look at Sasuke.

It was painful for the omega to have to see Sasuke and to be surrounded by his scent.

It wasn’t quite right, but it was still similar enough to cause him pain.

When Sasuke came back and set down the glass of water, Haku thanked him.

There was a weighted silence between the two for a moment before Sasuke broke it.

“Your son, he looks to be about three” Sasuke said bluntly.

Haku wasn’t the least bit surprised.

When he had bumped into Sasuke while dropping his son off, it’d been a shock, but after seeing how Sasuke looked at his son, he knew that he knew.

He looked just like his father, after all.

Haku had managed to dodge all of Sasuke’s requests for getting together, still paranoid even after all of these years, but he knew that he couldn’t avoid Sasuke forever.

“Yakeru” Haku said with an understanding nod.

“He’s Itachi’s isn’t he?” Sasuke asked even though he already knew the answer.

Haku simply sighed and nodded once more, finally looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke didn’t know why he felt a wave of emotion rush through him at hearing that.

The second he’d laid eyes on Yakeru, he’d known that he had to be Itachi’s son.

The boy literally looked like a clone of a younger Itachi. 

He looked exactly like the photos he’d seen of Itachi when he was his age, he just had slightly more delicate facial features, undoubtedly due to Haku’s genetics.

But hearing that there was still a living part of his brother out in the world gave him goosebumps.

“Why not tell me? I understand why you’d keep it from my father and mother, but why me?” Sasuke asked, almost at a loss for words.

“Sasuke, you really have to ask?” Haku said, not wanting to have to bring all of this back up again.

Sasuke understood why Haku wouldn’t exactly be eager to have his parents find out after their last interaction, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why he had been kept in the dark.

He and Haku used to get along really well. Sasuke actually liked Haku, and rarely liked anyone.

Itachi’s house had always been where he’d gone to escape Sakura, which meant that he’d ended up spending a decent amount of time with Haku.

He’d even been the second person to hold Sarada when she was born, the first being Sasuke.

He thought back on the last time he’d seen Haku.

Sarada hadn’t even been a month old yet, and they were all at the Uchiha estate for dinner one night.

Itachi was getting ready to take over as the second in command at their father’s company, so they were ‘celebrating’.

Itachi never wanted to get involved with the sketchy dealings of their father’s company. He’d always been more interested in technology development, but he always had a hard time going against the family, or more specifically, his father.

Their father was not fond of Haku, and had no problem with making it known.

Strike one for Fugaku was the fact that Haku didn’t come from money. 

He came from the working class and had no family, and Fugaku didn’t see him as a worthy match for his eldest son.

Strikes two and three were that he was a male and an omega.

Fugaku Uchiha was a stubbornly traditional man.

He was very much against same sex pairs. 

Most of the world didn’t give a shit, but he definitely did.

When people are largely ruled by instincts and scents, it wasn’t uncommon for people to end up finding themselves drawn to someone of the same gender. Most of the world didn’t give a shit who stuck what where, but Fugaku deemed it disgraceful.

He also viewed male omegas as shameful.

In his mind, men should be strong and intimidating. He thought that for a man to truly be a man, they had to be an alpha. 

Because of these reasons, Haku was usually treated very poorly by Sasuke’s father. 

His mother was much more kind, but she would never dare to go against Fugaku’s wishes, so she always just sat back an allowed her husband to say and do as he pleased.

Itachi and Haku had been seeing each other for well over a year, but Haku had only been introduced to Fugaku and Mikoto a month or so before all of this.

Fugaku had noticed his eldest son starting to pull away and distance himself from the investment firm, and after Sasuke turned his back on him, he refused to lose Itachi too.

He knew exactly who was to blame; Haku.

Haku just wanted Itachi to be happy, and as their relationship became more serious, he had started looking into his potential options.

Sasuke remembers his older brother confiding in him about leaving their father’s company so that he could be out from under their father’s control.

He had every intention of mating and marrying Haku one day, but he knew that their life would be far from easy so long as his father still signed his paychecks.

Sasuke remembered always being envious of what Itachi had found with Haku.

They’d met on a whim, with Haku being the two brothers’ waiter one evening, and Itachi had been whipped since day one.

He’d more or less stalked the omega for two weeks until he finally gathered up the courage to ask Haku to go on a date with him, and from then on they’d been infatuated with one another.

They seemed to have everything that Sasuke wished he had, but then it all fell apart.

The night that Haku had joined them for dinner, Sasuke could tell that something was going on.

Itachi had been incredibly protective of the omega the entire meal, making sure that he was always by his side and able to put his arm around him whenever he felt it was necessary, which seemed to be constant.

Their father picked up on it eventually, probably sooner than he’d let on, but he hadn’t brought it up until they were all finished with their meal.

“When were you planning on telling us about the bastard?” Fugaku had so charmingly asked.

Sasuke, Itachi, and Haku had been in the middle of a conversation, and for a moment, Sasuke had thought that his father was referring to his daughter somehow.

He instantly pricked with territorial irritation, but then Haku gasped.

Haku and Itachi’s reactions then let Sasuke know what it was that his father was actually referring to.

Pregnant omegas always had a sweeter quality to their scents, but Haku’s scent had always been dizzyingly sweet, so Sasuke hadn’t batted an eye when he’d registered the tooth rottingly sweet scent.

Itachi had understandably gone into alpha mode at such cruel words being uttered about his child.

A fight ensued, one where nothing was held back, all while everyone was still sitting at the table.

Sasuke remembers not being able to look away. It had been like a horrible car accident right in front of him in his childhood home.

Things came to a screeching halt when Fugaku gave Itachi an ultimatum.

There had been no sugar coating it, he bluntly told Itachi that he would need to choose the family he came from, and all that came with it, or ‘the sham of a family that he was attempting to create’.

Itachi froze.

Despite all of their shortcomings, he did love his family. 

He was fiercely loyal, sometimes to a fault, and hearing that those were his options had shocked him.

Haku had taken his silence as Itachi’s answer.

He’d always hated how Itachi just allowed Fugaku to treat him however he felt, so not using this chance to tell him to fuck right off had been the final straw.

Itachi had ran out after the distraught omega, but neither of them returned to the Uchiha house that night.

Sasuke had gone to Itachi’s home to check on how he was doing, knowing just how much he loved Haku, but Itachi was a mess.

Sasuke had never seen his brother anything less than perfect, but the haunting look on his face plagued Sasuke as one of his final memory of seeing his older brother alive.

Haku had told him that he wanted no part of a family that included Fugaku after all he’d said about the omega and his unborn child, but Itachi simply couldn’t bring himself to just cut off his father like that.

Haku had told Itachi that he would be terminating the pregnancy and that there was no longer any reason for them to continue seeing each other.

It’d broken Itachi.

Sasuke had felt horrible. 

As he sat with his big brother, trying to keep the man from falling apart, all he could think about was how it was all his fault.

He’d thought that if he had just sucked it up like Itachi had and joined his father’s precious company, then maybe he wouldn’t be forcing so many of his standards onto Itachi as harshly.

He thought that because he’d made Itachi Fugaku’s last hope of his ‘legacy’, that he’d basically forced all of his father’s will upon his brother.

A will that was effectively crushing him.

“So you had the baby. Then what? He could have grown up with his cousin, I could have made sure you guys were okay. Why do it alone?” Sasuke asked.

He felt so unbelievably guilty.

He felt guilty for everything with Itachi, but also for not being there to ensure that his nephew never went without, since Itachi couldn’t be here to do it himself.

He felt like he’d let him down all over again.

“You really don’t know?” Haku asked, his tone clipped.

He clearly thought that Sasuke already had all of the answers.

“Haku, since the funeral, I have only spoken to my father about personal matters once, and it was to tell him that I’m getting divorced” Sasuke replied seriously.

He didn’t want Haku withholding anything from him because he somehow thought that Sasuke still had reserves about ostracizing himself from his family.

Besides the sliver of affection that he had for his mother and two of his cousins, he didn’t give a fuck about the Uchihas.

“Finally got rid of that bitch?” Haku asked cynically.

Sasuke let out an amused huff, remembering Haku’s very obvious disdain for Sakura.

“Yeah, I did” Sasuke said with his brow raised, waiting for Haku to finally answer his question. Despite Haku’s best efforts, he would not be getting around this if Sasuke could help it.

Haku sighed and repositioned himself so that he was now sitting cris cross with his legs on the couch.

“Look, Sasuke. I couldn’t bring myself to abort Yakeru, and I had to leave. I went to stay with an old friend across the country, but then her mom got sick so she moved back here about a year ago. I had no choice but to come too, but your father cannot know that I’m back, or about Yakeru. At all” Haku said with a fierce protectiveness indicative of an omega mother.

“I have no intention of telling my father anything, Haku” Sasuke said sternly.

“Itachi was killed because of me” Haku said as he looked ready to just fold in on himself.

He refused to look Sasuke in the eye, clearly feeling the weight of Itachi’s premature death on his dainty shoulders.

Itachi’s body had been found in the shitty part of town that Haku’s apartment had been located in. It had been ruled an attempted mugging gone wrong due to the fact that he had clearly been in a fight and his wallet, keys, and car were missing.

It made sense. Itachi was the personification of true wealth and Haku used to live in a pretty rough neighborhood, since it was hard for an omega to make good money entirely on their own.

Haku had practically lived with Itachi, he was even in the process of slowly moving in, but then the fight had happened.

Itachi had gone home to find all of Haku’s possessions gone.

“It was maybe a month or so after I left” Haku said, bringing Sasuke out of the painful memories.

“Your father. He just showed up at my door out of the blue one day” Haku continued with a shaky breath.

“My father went to see you?” Sasuke said in disbelief.

He couldn’t think of any reason as to why his father would want to seek out Haku.

Haku just nodded before continuing, “He told me that he didn’t have time right then, but that he wanted to speak with me about something important. He asked if I’d be home that night at seven so that he could come back”.

Haku had paused to take in some deep breaths to calm his nerves, and Sasuke allowed the omega to take his time.

“I said sure just to get him to leave, but I didn’t trust it. You’re dad has always unnerved me, and Itachi and I never told him where I lived, so him showing up on my doorstep just made it worse. I had a bad feeling about it, so I made sure that I wasn’t home at seven that night” Haku said.

Sasuke was stone faced as he listened, waiting for the bomb to drop. With Haku being as shaken up as he was, Sasuke was certain that he had more to say. 

The alpha really hoped that Haku hadn’t been the one to find Itachi or worse, actually see it happen.

With Sasuke just looking at him expectantly, Haku began to get irritated.

The guy was a genius for fuck’s sake, why was he not capable of putting two and two together to spare the omega of having to continue?

“Your father just shows up at my house, asking if I’ll be home and then Itachi is attacked? I don’t know what Itachi was doing there, but come on, Sasuke. There is no way your father didn’t have something to do with it! I saw his goons fighting with Itachi in the hallway!” Haku said, exasperated.

Sasuke was shocked.

_So Itachi had actually made it to Haku’s?_

After being able to process the loss of his relationship with Haku, Itachi had made up his mind.

He had talked with Sasuke every night, and the day before Itachi’s death, he’d handed in his formal resignation to their father.

Itachi spent the month after the breakup preparing for leaving his father’s investment firm and for inevitably being cut off from any and all finical perks that came with it.

He had savings, but if he wanted his family back, he’d need long term security. 

He was planning on coming on as the CFO of Sasuke’s company until he was able to establish his own technology company, but with Haku refusing to answer his calls and changing his job, Itachi had no way of telling the omega all of that.

Sasuke knew why’d he’d been in Haku’s neighborhood. 

That was the night that he was going to tell Haku that he’d left it all for him.

Sasuke just had no clue that he’d actually gotten to Haku’s apartment.

Haku had stayed later at work that night to try and avoid Fugaku’s arranged meeting, but he’d walked right into the hallway leading to his door, only to be greeted by a nightmare inducing sight.

-

_Itachi rushed through the dingy hallway of Haku’s apartment building, knocking on the door covered in chipped paint as soon as he reached it._

_He waited with bated breath, but when over a minute had passed with no answer, he knocked again._

_“Haku. It’s me, please open the door. I quit. I’m sorry that I didn’t leave the second that he called you a mistake, but I did it” he said in hopes of drawing the omega out so that they could talk._

_The thought that he may be too late and that Haku had already terminated the pregnancy was enough to break him._

_He needed to talk to him to see if he’d missed his chance or not._

_But there was still no answer._

_Itachi looked at his watch, noting that it was eight o three. He knew Haku got off of work by six, or at least he had at his old job. But he’d always been adamant about never working later than that._

_It wasn’t exactly the safest option for an omega to be walking home alone, late at night, in a neighborhood like this._

_His inner alpha couldn’t help but worry. He’d been worried about the omega since the night that he’d left._

_He knew that Haku might be out with friends, or even working late, but without a way of confirming it, he became anxious._

_Right as Itachi was about to go back to his car to maybe go see if anyone from Haku’s former job knew where he was now working, he saw a familiar face enter the hallway._

_“Kisame?” Itachi said, not expecting to see his friend in this part of town._

_The large alpha looked at Itachi with shock._

_“What’re you doi- NO!” Itachi finished with a shout, his eyes going wide._

_Kisame worked for his father._

_Itachi had at first wondered what such a young, burley, uneducated alpha could possibly do at an investment firm, but he was a smart man._

_He knew of the shadiness that went on behind the scenes. He didn’t know the specifics, but he definitely knew that it existed._

_Kisame was more or less the muscle for his father, but he and Itachi had become friends throughout the years._

_Seeing him here the day after Itachi had turned his back on his father could only mean one thing._

_That, paired with the already forming look of regret on Kisame’s face when Itachi had started to ask him what he was doing here told the Uchiha all that he needed to know._

_As soon as realization dawned on Itachi, he made to get past Kisame, desperate to find Haku before he came home._

_Kisame grabbed Itachi’s shoulder to pull him away from the door._

_“Just let it go, Itachi” he said regrettably._

_“My father?” Itachi spit out, not even fearing for his own safety._

_He knew Kisame, they’d been friends for years. He didn’t think that he’d harm him._

_“I’m just following orders, Itachi” Kisame said, still sounding like this was the last thing that he wanted to be doing._

_“Let me go, Kisame. Let me talk to my father, just go home” Itachi growled out._

_Kisame was his friend, but Haku was the mother of his child, or at least he hoped he still was. The choice was not a hard one to make._

_“Itachi. Go home” Kisame warned one last time._

_Itachi knew that it was useless to try and convince him anymore. His father paid him, and paid him well, so he knew where Kisame’s loyalties really were._

_Itachi snapped, his inner alpha taking over at the thought of his desired mate and unborn child being in danger._

_Kisame was large and strong, but Itachi was well trained in martial arts and the most powerful alpha that the Uchiha family had seen in generations._

_Itachi was fighting to get back to his car so that he could get to his phone to warn Haku to go to Sasuke’s, but Kisame was fighting just as hard to keep him from doing that._

_Kisame knew that if Itachi got away, one of two things would happen._

_Option A was that Itachi would find a way to warn the omega and ensure his safety. This would undoubtably result in Kisame being killed._

_Option B was that they succeed in following their orders, but Itachi would know all about it. This would also result in Kisame being killed._

_As much as he cared for his friend and didn’t want to have to be doing any of this, he was not above self preservation._

_In the midst of their struggle, Kisame managed to press on his ear piece._

_“Itachi- he’s here” he’d gotten out between Itachi’s strategic blows._

_As Itachi made a grab for the ear piece, it had created an opening for Kisame to gain the upper hand._

_He put Itachi’s arm in a hold that rendered him useless unless he wished to yank his arm completely out of its socket._

_At that moment, Itachi was ready to just say fuck it and deal with the dislocation, but then the sound of keys rattling and the door to hallway opening got both of the alphas’ attention._

_Itachi snapped his head around when he was hit with the scent that he’d been longing to be surrounded by for months, but at that moment, it was the last thing he’d wanted._

_He wanted Haku as far away from here as humanly possible._

_“Itac-“ Haku had started to question the cluster fuck that was going on in front of him, but he cut himself off with a gasp when he recognized Kisame._

_He’d met him multiple times, seeing as how he was one of Itachi’s closest friends, but Itachi had told him that he was more or less one of Fugaku’s henchmen._

_Kisame wasn’t sure what to do. Something that should have been beyond simple to execute had turned into an absolute shit show._

_If he let go of Itachi to make a grab for Haku, Itachi would more than likely kill him. On the other hand, if he maintained his hold until his back up got here from down the road, Haku would probably get away._

_So he just maintained his hold and silently prayed that Hidan and Kakazu got here quickly._

_Haku was smarter than Fugaku clearly gave him credit for, because he could figure out what was going on the second that he registered both alphas’ disheveled and bloodied states._

_He instantly sensed danger, and out of instinct, his hand went up to protect his stomach._

_Itachi caught the movement, and despite being in a painful lock from his friend that was basically a glorified hit man, he smiled._

_“Yeah?” Itachi groaned out hopefully as Kisame put more pressure on his shoulder in an attempt to keep him quiet._

_Kisame had been banking on the omega being frozen in shock long enough for Hidan and Kakazu to show up. He didn’t want Itachi snapping him out of it._

_Haku just nodded as he gripped his work shirt in front of his still flat stomach, his eyes locked with Itachi’s._

_The omega’s hands were trembling out of fear. Out of fear for his child. Out of fear for the man he loved._

_Finding out that Haku hadn’t terminated the pregnancy seemed to give Itachi a whole new determination._

_The door from the other end of the hallway was slammed open, and even though Itachi couldn’t turn to look, he knew that it had to be the ones that Kisame had called out to._

_“Run!” Was all Itachi shouted out at Haku, using his full alpha tone to force the omega out of his shock so that he would comply._

_Haku took another look at Itachi, then nodded before turning back towards the door._

_Haku heard a sickening popping sound accompanied by Itachi wincing, then it just sounded like an all out brawl._

_Haku didn’t waste anytime, compelled by fear and his instincts to follow Itachi’s command._

_He high tailed it out of his building without so much as a glance back at the dilapidated facade._

-

“There’s no way” Sasuke said, completely dumbfounded.

He knew his father was a horrible man, that much was very clear, but even this seemed outside the realm of possibility.

Their father valued nothing more than family, he didn’t give a single shit about the happiness of said family, but Sasuke still couldn’t ever see him facilitating the murder of his own son.

Especially not Itachi.

Fugaku had groomed both of his sons from a young age, dreaming of them one day being his successors, as a team, but that was mainly for appearances.

He wanted people to regard the Uchihas with respect, essentially tracing all of their success back to him. 

He wanted people to think that he wasn’t the shitty father that he so clearly was.

Fugaku was as upset as he was when Sasuke chose to forge his own path, because Sasuke simply wasn’t following his orders. Fugaku had always favored Itachi.

He was the eldest son, the prodigy, and one of the most powerful alphas that his family had ever seen.

There was just no way.

“Sasuke, Kisame didn’t do it just because he fucking felt like it. It’s not like your dad put a green light out directly on Itachi, he did it to me, and you know that he would” Haku said scornfully.

He did not want Sasuke to think that he was making all of this up. Hell, no one wished that it wasn’t true more than Haku.

“It’s not like he intended for Itachi to die. I don’t even know why your father sent after me after I’d already decided to leave. He’d already gotten what he wanted!” Haku cried out, his sadness and anger finally at its tipping point.

Sasuke understood.

His face was as stoic as ever, but there was a steady stream of tears running down his face. 

So much time had passed that he no longer felt the overwhelming sadness that came with his brother’s death; the tears were stemming from pure rage.

“He quit” Sasuke laughed out humorlessly.

It was all so ironic.

Life was such a cruel bitch.

Haku’s head shot up from where he’d put it in his hands.

“What?” Haku asked.

He’d heard Sasuke perfectly clear, but he didn’t believe it.

“The day before he died, he left the company. He spent the entire month that you were gone figuring out how to make sure that you guys were set. He was going to come and work with me while he got his start up off the ground” Sasuke answered.

Haku just looked at Sasuke wide eyed.

“He chose you. Always would have” Sasuke said with a somber tone.

Haku had always had his suspicions, hopes was probably a better word for it though, that Itachi had been there to come back to him.

Those thoughts also made him feel even worse, because then that’d mean that all of this could have been avoided by him answering any of Itachi’s many phone calls.

He couldn’t help it though. He selfishly held on to that image of Itachi smiling, even when faced with three trigger happy goons, because he had wanted Yakeru. 

He had wanted both Haku and Yakeru.

-

“You’re own dad?” Naruto said in disbelief.

It’d taken over an hour of Naruto just sitting on the floor with Sasuke in silence for the Uchiha to finally speak up.

Naruto didn’t know which emotion was more prevalent; disgust for Sasuke’s father or pity for Sasuke and Haku.

He felt awful. 

He’d thought the absolute worst of both the alpha and the omega, when it turned out that they were simply old friends connected by a painful tragedy.

“One big, happy family, right?” Sasuke said cynically.

He didn’t know what to do with the information that he’d learned from Haku, but what he did know is that he needed to carefully think about any potential plan before acting.

He was more or less stuck for the moment.

But having Naruto next to him made that prospect somewhat bearable.

Naruto just let out a forced chuckle, not entirely comfortable with such dark humor.

Naruto felt everything that Sasuke was trying to keep buried, albeit not as intensely, but still.

The blonde alpha was usually never one to shy away from emotion.

Only one instance was an exception. 

“I care deeply for Haku, and I will probably be seeing a lot of him in the future. There is no attraction between the two of us. Will that be a problem for you?” Sasuke asked as Naruto rested his head on Sasuke’s broad shoulder.

Sasuke hadn’t been asking for permission, just simply warning Naruto, which was more than he’d be willing to offer to anyone that he’d been involved with in the past.

“I’m sorry” Naruto whispered.

“For always thinking that I’m some hump crazed alpha?” Sasuke deadpanned.

Naruto let out a tired chuckle.

“I guess?” Naruto answered.

He hadn’t really thought about it like that, but he did always seem to be jumping to that conclusion.

“It’s nothing against you, y’know?” Naruto finished.

“Yes, because you have been so forthcoming with how you actually feel about me” Sasuke replied with a tinge of sarcasm.

Another chuckle was earned from the blonde.

“I’m not well versed in the art of trying to date someone with the emotional capability of a stump, so pardon me” Naruto said.

His tone was good natured, but his words were true.

“Then try telling me what it is that you actually want, and not what you think I want to hear” Sasuke said sternly.

He was not one for games, but especially not emotional ones.

He was not a fan of indecisiveness.

Naruto rubbed his arm nervously. Apparently he’d been found out.

“A label, I guess?” Naruto said uncertainly.

“I’m not going to go all crazy and say I love you or anything, but I do like you. A lot. You make me feel safe about who I am. I get that you need time, but I want you to know that _I_ don’t want something casual, at least not for long” Naruto rushed out, his eyes closed to try and get through his little speech.

Sasuke just chuckled and rested his head back against the wall once more.

“That all?” Sasuke said like Naruto was just asking for a simple kiss.

Naruto sat up again and looked right at Sasuke with an incredulous look.

“What?” Sasuke asked with an amused smirk.

“That’s it!?” Naruto asked while he flailed his hands about.

“Believe it or not, being straight forward about what you want is usually the best way to get what you want when you’re dealing with an emotional ‘stump’ “ Sasuke deadpanned.

“I- I just, hey wait! So that really is it?” Naruto asked, still finding it hard to believe that it seemed to really be that simple.

“I don’t see why not. If you want a relationship, then I’m not opposed to it” Sasuke said.

He didn’t know why he thought it was so simple.

He’d literally never wanted or truly needed companionship in all of his adult life, so why did he feel as if he needed Naruto by his side through all of the bullshit that was sure to ensue in the near future?

Sasuke expected more shocked ramblings from Naruto, but all he got was a lap full of blonde alpha.

Naruto was just nuzzling against him, and then Sasuke picked up on it.

The light scent of citrus and sandalwood getting stronger by the second.

Sasuke just let out an amused huff as he pulled Naruto closer.

He had never had someone release waves of their scent in order to comfort him, partially due to the fact that he never before allowed anyone to see him need comforting, but also because he’d never had someone that cared enough to do so.

He’d only ever experienced people releasing their scent in order to entice and or seduce him.

It was... nice?

It was very nice actually, because even though Sasuke still felt rage boiling below his surface, he was starting to feel an undeniable wave of calmness washing over him.

Sasuke just carded his fingers through Naruto’s unruly hair as he allowed Naruto to comfort him, but then the entire lower half of his body started to feel like television static.

“Naruto, I can’t feel my ass” Sasuke said bluntly, but with a light tone.

“Oh! Sorry” Naruto said as he quickly clamored out of Sasuke’s lap.

As much as Naruto acted like an omega at times, there was just no denying that he didn’t weigh as little as one.

They ended up crawling into Sasuke’s bed after throwing on more comfortable clothes and haphazardly brushing their teeth.

“I’m sorry, Sasuke. Whatever you need, I’ll help” Naruto said as he ran the tips of his fingers over Sasuke’s arm, trying to keep some distance between them. He knew that Sasuke wasn’t the biggest cuddler out there, and he figured that he could really use some space right now without having to actually be alone.

“If you want your forsaken cuddles, you don’t have to wait for my permission. Perks of the promotion” Sasuke said with a smirk.

He had the undeniable desire to be close to Naruto, and he was keeping an almost clerical distance from Sasuke, save for the teasing touches to his arm.

Naruto perked up and instantly shuffled over so that he was laying on his side with his head resting on Sasuke’s chest.

“Thank you, Naruto” Sasuke said as he rested his chin on Naruto’s head.

“You sure you’re okay?” Naruto whispered.

“Are _you_ sure that you’re okay with being in a relationship with me after finding out about what happened to the last relationship my father disproved of?” Sasuke teased.

Dry, dark humor. That is the only way that Sasuke could think of to help him deal with all of this until he figured out what it was that he was going to do.

It kept his anger somewhat in check, but he was also genuinely asking.

He wanted Naruto to know that he was not exactly going to be welcomed with open arms by his father. Apparently a firing squad was more likely.

“Have you met my sister? I think that she could take on anyone that might be sent my way” Naruto said.

Sasuke knew it was a joke, but Naruto’s tone had been serious, uncharacteristically so.

It was his way of telling Sasuke that he understood without pulling back the flimsy curtain that Sasuke had put up as a temporary barrier.

“Yeah, I’m sure” Sasuke sighed out with a tone of amusement.

He allowed the warmth of Naruto to seep into his chest and spread throughout his body as the blonde’s breathing slowly even out.

The second that Sasuke heard the light snoring of the other alpha, his stoic face took on an angry grimace as he stared up at his ceiling to contemplate his next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one week! I am motivated again, ya’ll!(:
> 
> This just came to me randomly and I wrote it out, so we shall see how it does!  
> I did not expect it to get dark or angsty, but shit happens when you go on a writing binge, so my apologies if it isn’t you’re cup of tea.
> 
> As always, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter and aren’t sick of me yet!(:  
> I love hearing back from you guys<3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essentially a filler so we can get to the more exciting parts!  
> Buuut I did sprinkle in some smut!

“You’re fidgeting” Naruto so kindly pointed out from where he was looming over Ren to try and get him to crawl.

He always just scooted his little butt across the floor, not dissimilar to a dog, and Naruto had been making it his mission lately to get the infant to properly crawl.

Sasuke just shot him a glare, but failed to hold the once natural expression for very long.

He just couldn’t, not when Naruto was taking it upon himself to actively be involved in not only his childrens’ lives, but also their milestones.

It was unexpected how little actually changed by officially dating the boisterous blonde. 

Naruto was still spending the weekends with Sasuke and the children, they’d work during the week, and talk to each other when they could.

It was basically the same routine as before, except for one thing.

With the title of ‘boyfriend’ came a whole new Naruto.

He no longer worried about every little thing that he did. It was clear that he had a newfound sense of security.

Naruto gave Sasuke his space when it was needed without worrying that he’d been the cause behind Sasuke being socially drained. 

There had been no more avoidable fights because of miscommunication. Now, Naruto would come right out with what was bothering him and Sasuke would address the issue, or at least explain himself, and vice versa.

Turns out that Sasuke hadn’t been lying; the best way for Naruto to get what he needed was to simply ask for it.

“It’ll be fine. He’s just a kid” Naruto said as he placed one of Ren’s yogurt snacks just out of the baby’s reach as incentive.

Sasuke just raised his brow.

Yeah, no shit he was just a kid, but that was kind of the problem. 

Sasuke didn’t do the whole people thing, and he definitely wasn’t what anyone would consider to be good with children.

Sure, he liked his, but that was because they were his.

He understood that kids were just kids and misbehave from time to time, but he just didn’t have the patience required to deal with all of that from someone else’s offspring.

He didn’t have a natural affinity for kids like Naruto did. 

Children just gravitated to the blonde, there were obvious personality similarities, but Sasuke clearly lacked that energy.

His standoffishness deterred most adults from getting along with him, so how the hell was a child supposed to?

“Right” Naruto said with an irritatingly adorable snort, as he remembered just who it was that he was talking to.

“Look, just don’t glare at him too hard and I’m sure you’ll be fine. Plus, he’s half Uchiha, that means that he has to have some genetic predisposition for not being a social butterfly” Naruto offered with a winning smile.

After telling Naruto about Itachi, Sasuke no longer felt a need to separate his history from his present with the other alpha.

Any questions that Naruto asked, Sasuke answered.

They were mostly about Itachi, seeing as how Naruto loved the smile that Sasuke got on his face when he got to talk about him.

Sasuke appreciated it.

He never really got the chance to remember Itachi outside of his thoughts before Naruto, most people thought it’d be too painful of a topic for Sasuke, but they were wrong.

It comforted Sasuke to talk about him. It made him feel like his older brother wasn’t forgotten.

But in doing this, Naruto had gotten a better insight on most of Sasuke’s close family. From what the blonde could tell, the cold nature was inherited.

Sasuke let out an amused huff.

“Keep the glaring to a minimum, got it” Sasuke said dryly.

He looked at his watch.

_Ten seventeen._

Haku had said that he’d be here around ten.

It’d taken over a week of respectful pestering to get Haku to agree to let Sasuke meet Yakeru.

Sasuke understood Haku’s hesitancy, but he had no clue how to earn the omega’s trust if he wouldn’t even give him a chance.

So he’d resorted to using Sarada as his scapegoat.

He knew it was a cheap trick, but it’d gotten the job done.

“I get to meet my cousin, right?” Sarada asked from where she was playing with a few of her dolls.

“Maybe, babygirl. We have to see if his mommy will let him stay, first” Naruto answered.

He knew that Sasuke was clueless as to how to explain any of this situation to Sarada.

He obviously knew to leave out ‘Grandpa got your uncle killed after putting a hit out on your cousin’s mom’ , but still. Where the fuck was he supposed to start?

Sasuke allowed Naruto to take the lead on the whole explaining aspect of all of this.

Sasuke knew that just getting Haku in the door again was an accomplishment, so he didn’t want to push it too hard too fast. However, he couldn’t deny that he longed to see his and Itachi’s children growing up together.

He knew that Haku was smarter than most people gave him credit for, so when Haku said that he wanted to see if Yakeru was comfortable around Sasuke before letting him meet Sarada, he’d expected it.

It was a calculated move driven by omega mother instincts.

He knew that if it didn’t end up working out, it would hurt his son less if he didn’t know that he wouldn’t be getting to know his cousin that was around his age.

Sasuke just watched as Naruto lovingly encouraged his son to crawl, appreciating how effortlessly he got wrapped up in even the smallest of things his children did.

It was adorable and slowly melting the Uchiha’s cold heart when the sound of knocking made it stop beating for a moment.

Naruto looked up to Sasuke and found it fairly amusing how nervous he was.

_Who would’ve thought that all it’d take to make Mr. Too Cool For Everything sweat, was a three year old._

“C’mon, Sarada. Let’s go and see if you can help me get this little drool monster to actually crawl” Naruto said as he scooped up Ren and held out his hand for Sarada to take.

She looked like she was about to protest for a second, but then she took another look at ‘her Naru’ and jumped right up.

“Relax, you’ll do great. He’s a shy kid, but he loves ninjas. He’s always bringing toy ones to school, so just show him your tattoo” Naruto said with a reassuring smile before bending down to place a chaste kiss on Sasuke’s cheek before heading up the stairs with Sarada and Ren.

Sasuke was tempted to correct Naruto and tell him that he had a Samurai on his bicep, not a ninja, but it’d have to do.

He and Itachi had spent countless hours playing ‘ninjas’ growing up. He could work with that.

He wanted his nephew to like him so badly that it was pitiful, but he couldn’t help it.

This was a living, breathing, piece of Itachi that could be in his life if he played his cards right.

Plus, he felt like he owed it to his brother.

He wanted to be able to look after Haku and Yakeru to make sure that they’d always be okay, just like Itachi would have if he were still alive.

Sasuke ignored the unfamiliar feeling of nervousness coursing through him and made his way to the front door.

When he first opened the door to only see Haku, he’d been slightly disappointed, but then he caught a glimpse of a small hand clinging to Haku’s leg.

He felt himself smile, and it wasn’t even forced!

_Shit, maybe I can do this._

Sasuke just stepped off to the side to allow the omega and his son to come in.

“Thank you for coming over” Sasuke said politely to Haku.

Haku was clearly a little tense, but he was slowly relaxing when he realized that Sasuke had been a man of his word.

He wasn’t forcing anything. Just letting Haku and Yakeru take the lead.

“He’s shy, just give him a minute” Haku said as he fondly ruffled Yakeru’s hair.

They stayed standing, but it was comfortable, Sasuke easily falling back into conversation with Haku like the past four years hadn’t even happened.

After a few moments, Haku felt a tug on his pant leg and looked down to see Yakeru staring up at Sasuke in wonder.

“Yakeru, did you want to say hi?” He asked in a tone that could only be described as motherly.

When the little boy said nothing, Sasuke looked to Haku for permission.

When Haku nodded, Sasuke crouched down so that he was somewhat eye level with the young boy.

“I like your cast” Sasuke said as he pointed to the red cast adorning the boy’s small arm.

He instantly lit up.

“Reds my favorite!” He said with a smile as he held up his arm to give Sasuke a better look.

Naruto had told him about why Haku had moved Yakeru to Rasengan in the first place, and seeing why up close, just made his chest tighten.

It didn’t help that he was basically looking right into Itachi’s face at the moment, either.

Yakeru had the same defined smile lines, even with the smallest of smiles, and the same kind eyes.

It just reminded him of how much he’d failed his big brother.

“It was your dad’s favorite too” Sasuke said with an only half forced smile.

He’d spoken to Haku about Yakeru’s knowledge of Itachi when Haku had first agreed to come over. The last thing that Sasuke wanted to do was cross a line that Haku was uncomfortable with.

Yakeru knew of his father, he knew that he was dead, and he’d seen pictures, but that was pretty much it.

Haku had told Sasuke that there was no reason for him to avoid bringing up Itachi to Yakeru, he actually hoped that it’d make things easier.

As much as Haku was scared shitless of being around any Uchiha again, he did like Sasuke, always had.

He and the younger Uchiha brother had become good friends at one point, and he did wish for Yakeru to have a stronger connection to his father.

There was only so much that photos could do, and Haku had a hard time talking about Itachi without getting worked up.

“You knowed my dad?” Yakeru asked with wide eyes.

“He was my big brother” Sasuke answered with a nod.

Sasuke was surprised when Yakeru suddenly reached his hands out and placed them on both of Sasuke’s cheeks as best he could with a cast.

“You look like me” the boy said with a head tilt as he examined Sasuke’s face with curiosity.

Haku was shocked.

His son never took to anyone like this. It usually took Yakeru meeting someone multiple times before he’d even consider speaking to them, let alone touch them.

“That’s because you look like your dad” Sasuke said with a fond chuckle as he allowed his nephew to tilt his head up, down, and then to the side.

From there things flowed much easier.

Sasuke took notice of the ninja plushie clutched in the little boys good hand and took Naruto’s advice.

He showed him his samurai tattoo and told him about how he used to play ninja in the backyard with Itachi for hours a day.

This lead to Yakeru pointing at random tattoos on Sasuke’s arm and asking what they were.

Some Sasuke had to make up meanings behind, because telling a three year old that your a sadist who doesn’t mind getting tattooed and it just looked cool is generally frowned upon.

By the time Yakeru got the yellow peony on Sasuke’s wrist, they had gotten comfortable, sitting criss cross applesauce on the floor while Haku kept a watchful eye on the two from the couch.

Once again, Sasuke looked to Haku.

He flicked his eyes in the direction of Sarada’s toys and gave the omega a questioning look.

When he got another nod, he couldn’t help the smile the stretched on his face.

He almost never smiled this often. Hell, before meeting Naruto, he never genuinely smiled. He’d always smiled with his big brother, though, and Yakeru was so much like him already.

“I got that one for my daughter, Sarada” he said.

“If I’m ‘lated to you, am I ‘lated to her?” He asked with yet another tilt of the head.

“She’s your cousin” Sasuke answered.

“Would you like to meet her?” Haku asked from the couch.

Yakeru’s answer was delivered in the form of an enthusiastic nod that made Sasuke chuckle as he got up off of the floor to go and get Sarada.

“You’re like the toddler whisperer or some shit” Sasuke whispered to Naruto as they all made their way down the stairs.

From there things went even better, better than Sasuke’s pessimistic ass could have ever hoped.

Yakeru had been so excited to see Naruto, running up to him the second they got back to the living room.

“Naru! You know my uncle!?” He asked excitedly.

Haku couldn’t believe it. 

His painfully shy son had not one, but two male alphas that he felt safe with.

There was just something about it that put him at ease.

It was obvious that both Sasuke and Naruto cared for Yakeru, which wasn’t something that he often got outside of Haku and Haku’s friend, Konan.

“I do” Naruto said with a friendly chuckle as he bent down to return Yakeru’s hug.

It gave Haku hope that his son might actually get to have a real family, even if his father was gone.

Sarada and Yakeru got along great, seeing as how they were both quiet kids.

After seeing the two cousins interact with one another, it amazed Naruto how similar they were in both looks and personality. He felt like an idiot for not noticing it sooner.

They just sat and colored together or watched the movie about talking fish for over an hour.

Sasuke and Naruto were on the couch, with Naruto leaning on Sasuke’s shoulder as Ren slept on his chest.

Haku was sitting on the floor with his back resting against the couch.

No matter how many times Sasuke asked if Haku was actually comfortable in that position, the omega wouldn’t sit on an actual chair.

He wasn’t used to not having his son all over him when they were together.

Up until now, he’d been his son’s whole world. It was a hard pill to swallow, and he was trying to loosen the reigns a little bit.

He couldn’t help his instincts to stay close to his pup though, but Sasuke understood why.

-

“Sasuke, you know that I can’t do that” Haku said forlornly.

Sure, it sounded like a decent enough idea, but it was just that; an idea.

There was no guarantee that it’d actually work, which would put Haku and his son in danger. 

“I understand your hesitancy, I really do, Haku. This can actually work, but there is no way that it will without you and Yakeru” Sasuke said, almost pleading at this point.

After the kids had tuckered themselves out enough to actually fall asleep, Sasuke moved them to his room so that he and Naruto could speak to Haku with them still being close.

This was the first that Naruto was hearing of anything having to do with what Sasuke wanted to do about his father.

He didn’t bring it up with Sasuke for obvious reasons, but outside of him mentioning something about meeting with some agent, he was just as surprised as Haku.

“Kakashi is one of the top agents, and he has been trying to build a case against my father for as long as I can remember, but there has never been a chance in hell before now” Sasuke explained.

“What the hell can I do, Sasuke? Look, I get that I saw some shit that doesn’t bode well for the guy, but at the end of the day, it’d just be his word against mine. He has money and connections, plus he’s an alpha. If you think that anyone would take an omega’s word over his, then you’re giving society far too much credit” Haku said.

Haku knew that the only reason that Fugaku hadn’t been looking for him all these years was because the alpha didn’t think it was necessary.

There was no way that Fugaku didn’t choose to let him be, thinking that he wasn’t a threat anymore.

If Fugaku wanted Haku found, he could have it done with one phone call.

Haku didn’t want to think about the potential repercussions that would come with Fugaku finding out that he was back in town and conspiring against him with Sasuke.

“My mother. She’s our ticket in. Kakashi has tried to get useful information out of me for years, but I’ve never had access to it. She does” Sasuke started.

He took a moment to gauge Haku’s reaction, but when he still looked just as skeptical as when he’d started, he paused.

“Sasuke, she would never go against him and you know it” Haku said sternly.

He was getting irritated.

This was all useless. 

It was a well known fact that Fugaku Uchiha was virtually untouchable.

Sasuke was desperate to get the omega to agree. He was the only way that everything else would fall into place.

He understood where Haku was coming from; his mother was loyal to his father, to a fault.

Despite this fact though, she was a caring mother.

If it hadn’t been for his father constantly dragging her off to a gala or random event at every turn to keep up the bullshit facade that he’d built up, he figured she would have been a great mother.

She was fiercely protective of her children and always wanted the best for them. Sadly, she thought that the best was the lifestyle that only her husband could provide, which lead her to just putting up with his whims.

As misguided as her actions were, it was clear that she cared for her sons.

One look at Yakeru and she would crack.

“When she finds out that my father is the reason why her son is dead, she will. Itachi was her ‘baby’ and there is no way that she’d stand by him after knowing that” Sasuke explained.

Haku let a sad smirk cross his face.

He remembered giving Itachi so much shit about him being this ‘big, bad alpha’ while secretly being a huge momma’s boy.

“Sasu-“ Haku had started, but Sasuke interjected before he could finish his thought.

Haku’s tone was one laced with regret, one that you’d hear when someone just couldn’t give you the answer that you wanted to hear.

“Will you at least talk to Kakashi? I can be there if you’d like, but he can lay everything out for you. Just-“ Sasuke let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Please” Sasuke finished.

Naruto was half tempted to snort at the poorly concealed grimace from Sasuke.

The alpha had never needed to beg for anything in all of his twenty seven years of life, but lately he’d needed to do it far more than he’d care to admit.

Naruto could tell how uncomfortable Sasuke was, and couldn’t help but find at least a little bit of enjoyment out of it.

The guy usually never let anything shake him, so it was strange seeing him seem so human.

Plus, Naruto just had a tendency to laugh at inappropriate times.

After all, he was uncomfortable too. He wanted this to work out for Sasuke just as much as Sasuke did. Not only did the other alpha need it, but he deserved closure.

Haku looked over to the room where Yakeru and Sarada were sleeping while he weighed his options.

Of course he had grown tired of constantly needing to look over his shoulder, but he didn’t know if the results would even be worth it.

“Look, Sasuke. I’ll meet the guy, but that’s it. I’m not making any promises to help, and it has to be here, not in public” Haku said sternly.

It wasn’t the resounding ‘Of course! How can I help!?’ That Sasuke had originally hoped for, but it’d have to do.

-

“Someone is in a good mood” Naruto breathed out as he was unceremoniously shoved against the door to Sasuke’s bedroom by none other than Sasuke.

Said alpha was currently running his hands wherever they’d reach on Naruto as he left a trail of rather aggressive kisses down his neck, not that Naruto minded. Not one bit.

Sasuke had asked Naruto if he’d come over after his workday was done.

It’d surprised Naruto, considering that it was a Thursday, but he didn’t hesitate to agree.

Unfortunately, last week he had made plans to go out for a few drinks with his sister, so he hadn’t been able to get here as early as he would have liked.

He’d used his key, something that Sasuke insisted was simply practical, and went to Sasuke’s room when he saw that all of the lights were off.

It was nearing ten o’clock, so he figured that the kids had to have been put down hours ago.

The second that he opened the bedroom door, he’d been pounced on.

“I am. You gonna take advantage of it or not?” Sasuke purred out into Naruto’s ear.

Naruto felt even more blood rush south at the promise behind those words.

Naruto was still somewhat buzzed and had a gorgeous and apparently horny man all over him, so what the hell else was he supposed to say?

“I’m gonna have to go with yes” Naruto answered, almost cutting himself off with a gasp when Sasuke slotted himself between Naruto’s legs to grind into him.

“Off, clothes off” Sasuke said with an amusing amount of impatience as he tugged at Naruto’s shirt.

“Release me then” Naruto chuckled out.

This was a fairly new development in their dynamic.

Their sex and foreplay was no longer desperate and lust crazed.

Those elements were definitely still there, but now there was an air of comfortability between the two of them.

Naruto laughed sometimes, during moments like this, and didn’t have to worry about breaking the mood.

It was something that usually only came with the passing of time in a relationship as people got more comfortable with one another, but they’d effortlessly fallen into it in no time at all.

It somehow managed to make having sex with Sasuke even better for Naruto.

Sasuke gave an annoyed huff, but peeled himself away from the desirable blonde, which gave him a moment to appreciate the attractive blush donning his whiskered cheeks.

_Thought I tasted bourbon._

Naruto rid himself of his clothes in a clumsy haste while Sasuke simply pulled his pajama pants down his long legs.

Sasuke pulled Naruto back and flipped their position right as they were falling to the bed, ensuring that he landed on top.

He caught himself on his hands, never able to resist the sight of Naruto strewn out below him.

He drank it in for just a moment before his lips were back on Naruto’s.

It was anything but a gentle caress; it was filthy and just what they both needed.

Naruto gasped against his lips at the ferocity with which Sasuke kissed him, but Sasuke just used it as a chance to get the upper hand.

Naruto didn’t even try to fight for dominance, he knew it’d be useless with Sasuke like this.

Sasuke took his time to savor the taste of his favorite liquor mixed with Naruto, a taste that was quickly becoming another favorite of his.

He literally kissed Naruto breathless until Naruto had to resort to pulling the other alpha off with a harsh tug to his hair.

With the growl that rumbled in Sasuke’s chest and the way that he didn’t immediately look at Naruto, the blonde worried that he might have pulled too hard.

Then Sasuke turned his head and looked at him.

He had a wild look in his eyes.

It wasn’t like that first time they’d slept together, that’d been more desperate than anything. This was an entirely different level of intensity.

Naruto was about to ask if Sasuke was okay, still worried that he might be pissed, he’d never seen that look in Sasuke’s eyes, but Sasuke had suddenly lifted himself and flipped Naruto over.

Now the blonde was on his stomach, but in an instant, Sasuke pulled him up onto his knees like he was weightless.

Naruto felt Sasuke roughly grab both sides of his ass and pull at the rounded muscles.

For a second he wondered what the hell Sasuke was doing, but then he both heard and felt Sasuke spit directly onto his ass hole.

It was raunchy and so unlike the Uchiha, that Naruto hadn’t expected it at all.

He gasped, but then Sasuke leaned forward and spread him even further before licking a wide stripe from his balls all the way up to his hole.

Naruto let out a choked moan as he buried his face into the pillows even more, effectively arching his back even deeper to allow Sasuke an even better angle.

He had not expected this type of treatment, but there was no way in hell that he’d stop it. 

If Sasuke quite literally wanted to lave him with attention, then Naruto was more than happy to let him.

“Holy hell” Naruto groaned out when Sasuke set a rhythm that had the blonde’s knees about ready to give out.

Anytime Naruto started to get vocal, it just spurred Sasuke on, and this was no exception.

Sasuke was absolutely ravenous at this point, and Naruto was unable to do much more than take it and let out approving moans.

He’d been rimmed before, but not by anyone with a tongue as skillful as Sasuke’s.

The Uchiha was slowly taking him apart but by bit.

Sasuke trailed his tongue down and ran it teasingly over Naruto’s balls, earning a low groan from the blonde in the process.

When Sasuke began sucking on the head of his hard cock from behind, Naruto damn near felt his soul jump out of his body, but then Sasuke took him almost entirely down his throat in one go. Naruto lost it, letting out an obscene moan as he gripped the sheets until his knuckles turned white.

“Fuck, Sasuke! Fingers, please, I nee- Fuck! Please!” Naruto sobbed out, not even coherent enough to care that he was a babbling, pleading mess.

He just needed more.

“You want my fingers, huh? How badly do you want me to stretch you open, Naruto?” Sasuke growled out after pulling off of Naruto’s painfully hard dick.

He was teasing Naruto, and he knew it. Normally Naruto would be a bit more of a brat before giving in, knowing just how much him begging got to Sasuke, but he really just wanted to please his alpha right now.

“So badly, alpha” Naruto whined as he pressed his hips backwards.

Sasuke was teasingly running his hands over the perfectly sculpted muscle of Naruto’s ass, purposefully grazing his fingertips over his entrance every once and a while.

“You can do better than that” Sasuke said, a predatory tone lacing his deep voice.

“Please! You know how much I love being filled and stretched by you! Your fingers, your fat cock- I promise I’ll take it so good, alpha, just please give it to me!” Naruto cried out as Sasuke put more pressure behind his finger as it circled Naruto’s rim.

“Good omega” Sasuke drawled out as he folded himself over Naruto’s back to nip at his ear.

Sasuke was off of him, and right back before Naruto even got the chance to complain, having snatched the lube in record time.

Naruto would chalk it up to his brain still being slightly fuzzy from the alcohol, but it felt as if Sasuke was moving at a super human speed with how quickly he had a slicked up finger pushing into him.

Naruto’s mouth shot open to let out a shocked moan at the sudden penetration.

It was as if Sasuke had already managed to memorize every inch of Naruto’s body with how he angled his finger to instantly come in contact with his prostate.

Naruto didn’t even get a chance to get used to the slight stretch before sparks were being sent throughout his entire body from the stimulation.

It was all too much, too quickly, but it felt too good for Naruto to tell Sasuke that.

“More” was all Naruto moaned out as he pressed his hips back in desperation.

“Such a greedy slut. You want more already?” Sasuke chuckled out darkly.

There was little that he enjoyed more than working Naruto up into a writhing, begging mess. 

“I need your knot filling me up, want my alpha to breed me” Naruto breathed out in a haze.

The pleasure was so intense that it literally felt like it was taking away a large portion of his brain function, apparently the part that housed his verbal filter.

Sasuke’s eyes went wide and his finger stilled, pressing right up against that sensitive bundle of nerves.

That was something new.

Naruto had just called him _his_ alpha, and the possessive quality to that statement made his inner alpha preen.

But that second part, that is what really got to him.

Most alphas had an instinctual desire to procreate with the mates or partners, but up until this point, it had just been a foreign concept to Sasuke.

He got it now, though.

Fuck, did he get it.

Logically he knew that it wasn’t a possibility, but just the thought of it had his knot throbbing and half formed without any contact, so fuck logic.

“You want my knot? Want me filling you up?” Sasuke growled out as he ground his erection into the back of Naruto’s thigh.

Naruto just nodded frantically, an action that Sasuke had clearly seen, but was still not satisfied with.

“Use your fucking words” Sasuke demanded as he had worked a second finger in right alongside the first, adding even more pressure to that sensitive spot.

Naruto’s body lurched forward of its own volition, and he let out a drawn out moan.

He had to take a second to catch his breath and focus on not instantly cumming.

“God yes, Sasuke. Please, want to be full, I’ll be so good for you” Naruto gasped out between breaths.

“And if I want to feel you cum around my fingers before I get you on my cock?” Sasuke teased as he began to scissor his fingers somewhat hastily.

“I’ll fucking do it! Just- I just need to cum!” Naruto babbled out.

The constant pressure on his prostate had pushed him past the point of needy. His mind was clouded and blocking out anything that wasn’t the sweet release that Sasuke’s skilled fingers promised.

He’d never cum strictly from Sasuke’s fingers before, but he’d gotten close to it plenty of times. He wasnt’t worried about fulfilling the first portion of Sasuke’s request, just the second.

He was an alpha, and not in rut. He had no idea if he’d be able to stand the over sensitivity. He needed to cum _now_ , but also craved the feeling of being tied to Sasuke.

He’d probably agree to pretty much anything so long as Sasuke kept his finger crooked just right.

“Then do it, Naruto. Cum on my fingers like a greedy little slut so I can fuck my knot into your tight ass” Sasuke said as his thumb pressed into his perineum and he pressed a third finger in.

The pressure on his prostate from both the inside and outside made Naruto’s cock twitch violently.

Naruto practically screamed as he pushed his hips back for even more.

“That’s it. My perfect omega, so responsive” Sasuke praised, knowing just how much Naruto liked it when he did.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Don’t stop, please don’t sto- I’m cumming, I’m fucking cumming” Naruto sobbed out as his body tensed and his muscles spasmed wildly around Sasuke’s fingers with his release.

Sasuke didn’t know why he was surprised that Naruto could actually do it, but he was in complete awe at the sight of him cumming untouched.

Sasuke couldn’t wait any longer.

He knew that it was kind of a dick move, but he would listen the second that Naruto told him to stop, if he did, so he withdrew his fingers and lined himself up to Naruto’s entrance.

He was beyond thankful that he’d had the forethought to lube himself up before Naruto had finished.

He figured that if he was able to press into Naruto as his body was still being wracked with the aftershocks of pleasure from his orgasm, that it would make the inevitable oversensitivity more bearable.

Thankfully the frequent sex allowed for Sasuke to bottom out quickly without worrying about harming Naruto.

“Fuck!” Naruto moaned out, arching his back even further.

There was just no way to put words to the amount of pleasure that Naruto felt when he was filled to the brim by Sasuke.

“Is it too much?” Sasuke grit out.

He would stop the second that Naruto asked, but that didn’t mean that he was looking forward to it if it came down to that.

Finally having the patience to have Naruto cum before he got inside of him could definitely have some potential draw backs.

As beautiful of a sight as it was, there was nothing that could ever compare to having the muscles of the blonde wrapped tightly around his cock.

Naruto almost felt the need to say yes, because it was a little much, but then he thought about getting Sasuke’s knot and changed his mind.

He wanted to please the alpha, and he knew that there was no way that it wouldn’t feel fantastic shortly.

Sasuke never failed to send him into a frenzy.

“I can take it” Naruto whined out as he shook his head.

He was beyond sensitive, but as soon as Sasuke had gotten the go ahead, he began pulling his hips back, only to snap them forward with a delicious ferocity.

With each thrust the sensitivity was being washed away and replaced with the familiar desire for more.

Naruto was shocked when he felt his spent cock start to harden again as Sasuke’s groaning increased.

“You have no idea what you do to me” Sasuke groaned out, punctuating the phrase with a particularity hard thrust right into that sensitive bundle of nerves.

“Holy shit! There!” Naruto cried out.

“Yeah? Right there?” Sasuke groaned out in a teasing manner as he held himself right up against that spot.

Sasuke pounded into Naruto at the same angle, reveling in the desperate sounds that he was pulling out of the blonde.

After Naruto clearly got over the oversensitivity, Sasuke trailed his hand down between Naruto’s thighs.

“Can’t believe you’re hard again. Such a good cock slut” Sasuke grit out as he gripped Naruto’s hard length.

He felt it twitch in his hand and gave it a teasing gasp before pulling his hand away.

“Please, Sasuke! Give me your fucking knot” Naruto cried out as he felt the forming knot start to press against him.

“You want me to fill you up? Make you take it?” Sasuke growled out.

The answer was obvious, but Sasuke _loved_ to hear Naruto beg and plead for him.

“God yes! Please fucking give it to me, I’m so fucking close” Naruto begged as he met Sasuke’s hips with each thrust.

He barely had any time to come down from his first orgasm, so he was quickly approaching a second one.

Sasuke’s thrusts were slowing down, but that was only so that he could focus on going deeper with each one.

Naruto was unable to control the flow of choked moans escaping his mouth as he just took the brutal thrusts eagerly.

“Fuck, that’s it, keep fucking yourself back on my cock” Sasuke groaned out as he gripped Naruto’s hips even harder.

Naruto could literally feel him throbbing against his rim, and was more than willing to oblige.

“Im gonna knot, fuck don’t stop, don’t stop” Sasuke growled out as Naruto threw himself back onto him, hard.

“Sasu- Fuck, I-I’m cumming!” Naruto cried out right as Sasuke gave one final, deep thrust and locked the two of them together.

Sasuke gave a harsh tug to Naruto’s unruly hair and turned his head to the side.

He folded himself over the blonde’s back to roughly press his lips onto Naruto’s, swallowing the cries of pleasure from their releases.

-

“What the hell got into you?” Naruto asked as he caught his breath.

Sasuke just let out a chuckle, still out of breath, himself.

“I’ll tell you about it later. First, I want you to tell me what all of that was about” Sasuke said as he shifted the two of them on to their sides so that they could wait for his knot to go down comfortably.

“All of what?” Naruto asked.

When his mind had cleared from the lust, he thought back on what had just transpired.

He had a fairly good idea of what Sasuke was alluding to, but he was too embarrassed to answer without being sure.

“Some of what you said. It goes deeper than just you liking to bottom and being good with kids, doesn’t it?” Sasuke said more than asked.

He didn’t need to really ask, he was fairly certain, but he felt like it was important for Naruto to actually say it to him.

He was still trying to hone his communication skills, but this felt important, so he gave it a go.

He wanted Naruto to see that he was actually trying and that he did notice things.

“Uh, yeah- but it’s no big deal” Naruto rushed out.

He had no idea how to talk about this with someone anymore. He was nervous.

It didn’t make any sense for him to be nervous at this point, but it felt like a whole new line would be crossed.

“I know that I’m not the best with reading people in emotional settings, but even I can tell that’s bullshit” Sasuke replied.

He was prying, but trying to be gentle about it. 

He didn’t want to force it out of Naruto before he was comfortable, but he also didn’t want him to just shut down and get defensive like he used to when this topic would come up.

Naruto let out a tired chuckle.

“Does it freak you out?” Naruto asked timidly.

It was basically a yes.

He was grateful for their current position; if he had to look at Sasuke, there was no way that he’d have admitted to that.

At least not without a fair amount of coaxing.

Naruto was astonished when Sasuke tightened his arm that was draped over Naruto’s midsection and ran his nose along Naruto’s neck.

“No. It actually makes a lot of sense. Definitely explains some things” Sasuke said as he continued his nuzzling.

Naruto figured that this was Sasuke’s way of trying to rub his scent onto Naruto’s scent gland in their current position. An action that is a comfort mechanism for those who didn’t hold a bond mark.

Naruto was genuinely touched by Sasuke’s reaction.

The fact that he even cared enough to notice and piece it together was a feat in and of itself for Sasuke, but he didn’t mind and he was trying to put Naruto at ease about his worries.

Naruto smiled and craned his neck to look back over his shoulder at the other alpha.

“Thanks” he said with a blissed out smile.

Sasuke just gave him one of his ‘Naruto smirks’.

It was almost like a smile, but not quite, and Naruto didn’t know what else to call it. He’d never seen Sasuke look at someone with soft eyes like that before but him and his kids.

It was Sasuke’s version of a smile, and it was almost exclusively reserved for Naruto.

Sasuke didn’t respond to Naruto, opting instead to press his lips to the blonde’s and languidly kiss him until his knot went down.

After they were satisfied, they both got up to pull on some sweats to sleep in, but then Naruto remembered his question from earlier.

Naruto had found out pretty quickly that Sasuke was much more forthcoming and willing to hold a conversation after knotting.

“You gonna tell me what it is that has you in such a good mood, or?” Naruto trailed off expectantly as he grabbed a pair of Sasuke’s boxers out of the dresser.

He was dead tired and ready to just pass the hell out, but he was slightly more curious than he was exhausted.

Sasuke had been fairly serious lately, and understandably so, so Naruto wondered if it was some good news about the whole ‘my dad killed my brother’ situation.

“Haku said that he’ll do it” Sasuke said, clearly proud that his plan could actually start to be put in motion.

“That’s amazing! But what changed his mind? I thought that he needed to talk to Kakashi next week?” Naruto asked as he stepped into a pair of sweats.

“He did meet Kakashi. He was nervous about the whole thing and just wanted to get it over with, so Kakashi and I moved some stuff around so that they could talk today” Sasuke explained.

“He is confident enough in Kakashi’s abilities to agree to give a statement and testify if necessary, but I still need to talk to my mother and Kisame” Sasuke finished, sounding slightly less thrilled than before.

“Kisame? Your brother’s friend who went after Haku? Why do you need him?” Naruto asked as he crawled under the luxurious duvet.

“All Kakashi needs to put my father away is the records from my mother, but if he wants to be able to charge him for Itachi’s murder, then the prosecutor will need more than just Haku’s witness statement. It’s shitty, but he is an omega and the courts won’t just take his word on it” Sasuke answer as he joined Naruto.

He extended his arm out onto the pillow as a silent invitation for the other alpha.

Naruto wasted no time in resting his head on Sasuke’s bicep.

“Kakashi knows what he’s doing and has had to deal with situations similar to this before. He said that so long as Kisame knows that my father will be taken down soon, he’ll more than likely flip for a plea deal. His word on top of Haku’s would be enough. Plus, I’m sure he has a list a mile long of other errands he’s done for my father” Sasuke continued.

“And you’d be okay with that? With Kisame potentially getting no jail time?” Naruto asked as he looked up at Sasuke from his position.

He didn’t want to put such unpleasant thoughts into Sasuke’s head, but Sasuke had basically asked him to.

He’d said that he would appreciate Naruto’s input, seeing as how Sasuke was so emotionally invested in this. He needed someone to keep him grounded at times.

The Uchiha was not used to being emotionally invested in anything, so he couldn’t always tell when it clouded his judgement.

He was aware enough to understand that it was happening, he just didn’t always realize until after the moment had passed, hence why he’d started running things by Naruto for an outsider’s opinion.

Naruto didn’t want Sasuke to end up unsatisfied with the results in his crusade against his father.

“Kisame didn’t do it because he wanted to. If it gets my father arrested, I really don’t give a shit what does or doesn’t happen to the brute” Sasuke said bluntly.

_Well shit, okay then._

Sasuke seemed resolute in his decision, and Naruto respected his choice.

“So what now?” Naruto asked.

“I have to figure out how to get that meat head to talk to me” Sasuke answered.

He knew that it wouldn’t be an easy task. Kisame may not be book smart, but he had more than enough street smarts to make up the difference, but that is an issue that could be saved for tomorrow.

Sasuke was nervous about what he was about to say next.

Naruto had been much better about voicing his concerns or insecurities, but Sasuke didn’t know if he’d revert back to shutting him out after this one.

“Haku is extremely concerned for both his and Yakeru’s safety” Sasuke started tentatively.

“Well yeah, of course he is” Naruto yawned out.

“Kakashi said that until they can get either Kisame or my mother on board, to ensure that the case is solid, that there isn’t much that he can do for Haku in terms of protection” Sasuke continued.

Naruto just looked up at him again with an expectant look.

Sasuke kept pausing, and Naruto could actually feel his pulse picking up the slightest bit from where his arm was draped over his broad chest.

“Okay, and?” Naruto supplied when Sasuke just searched for the right words to avoid upsetting Naruto.

“Well, he is staying with a beta friend of his, Konan, and it isn’t in the best part of town. She obviously doesn’t offer the greatest sense of security. I was wondering hoe you’d feel about me offering up two of the extra rooms to them until things get off the ground?” Sasuke said.

Naruto tensed.

It’s not that he distrusted Sasuke or Haku. They clearly had more of a familial relationship than anything, but at the end of the day, they weren’t related.

_What if Haku randomly goes into heat? I mean, he’s a beautiful omega and Sasuke is a good looking alpha. It’s simple biology! And Haku is a guy, so that clearly checks off one of Sasuke’s requirements!_

Those were the kind of thoughts that started racing around in Naruto’s anxiety riddled brain at hearing that Sasuke wanted to ask an omega to come and stay with him.

Naruto did trust Sasuke, and he understood the reasoning behind it, but his insecurities were trying to force logic out of the equation. 

“I just want to make sure my nephew is safe” Sasuke said.

_Using my soft spot for kids. Smart._

“I won’t lie and say that I’m thrilled by the idea, but I also can’t say that it doesn’t seem to make sense and be the only viable option for the moment” Naruto forced out.

Sometimes he hated having to be an adult and being honest in a relationship, but if Sasuke was making the effort, so would he.

But still, he couldn’t help but think about how much he really didn’t like the idea of having to walk into Sasuke’s house and smell the scent of an omega.

Sasuke relaxed a little underneath Naruto.

So he wasn’t exactly on board, but at least he was willing to talk about it.

“Haku is more or less like a brother to me. He is the mother of my nephew” Sasuke said calmly, but his voice was full of conviction.

“And I get that. I believe you, but I’ve had people tell me that I have nothing to worry about before, only to have it not end up well. When it comes down to it, instincts are instincts and I’m just an alpha” Naruto said, the last part almost in a whisper.

Sasuke shifted so that he could easily look Naruto square in the face.

“I’ve already told you; I’m not one to go all crazy over scents, even Sakura’s, who is an omega, did nothing for me. But I like yours. A lot” Sasuke said earnestly.

Naruto figured that was Sasuke’s way of saying ‘I care deeply for you and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize what we have’ without having to be as mushy.

Naruto couldn’t stand the thought of Haku constantly being worried about his or his son’s safety, because he did genuinely like the omega, so he let out a sigh.

“Like I said, I’m not thrilled about it, but I understand. If it will put you and Haku at ease, I don’t see a problem with it” Naruto said.

He still sounded uneasy, but he no longer seemed downright petrified.

“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable” Sasuke said after Naruto had stayed silent for a few moments.

“I’m uncomfortable with the idea, but I see the necessity behind it” Naruto droned out.

He sounded so crestfallen, as if Sasuke had just told him that he was breaking things off with him so that Haku could move in.

Maybe it was just Sasuke’s unusual amount of anxiety about setting Naruto off, but he just didn’t buy it.

“It wouldn’t be for long, and that is even if he agrees. I’m hoping to speak to Kisame in the next two weeks” Sasuke offered.

He couldn’t tell if he was making it better or worse.

He couldn’t stop trying to reassure Naruto that everything would be alright, but Naruto still remained as stiff as a board, almost like he wanted to roll over and avoid touching Sasuke at all costs.

“Sasuke, I said I’m fine with it. They’re your family. Do whatever it is that you feel you have to do to keep them safe” Naruto bit out.

He really didn’t want to talk about this anymore right now.

It could wait until after they slept. It’s not like he really had a choice in the matter anyway; it was the right thing to do on Sasuke’s part.

“You could stay too, if you’d like. I want you to be comfortable and I wouldn’t be opposed to having you here more” Sasuke said before his brain was able to process his own words.

His own eyes went wide at what he was suggesting.

He had never gone to such lengths to keep someone happy out of his own free will.

He was glad that he had kept in the _Because you’re family too_ part that he had been thinking.

He needed more time to process that one. It was a big step and a little too fast.

He saw the blonde, himself, and his two children as their own little family, which was a just too much vulnerability for Sasuke to handle at the moment.

“You- you want me to stay with you?” Naruto asked, completely floored.

It was like pulling teeth to get the guy to admit to that he was actually capable of having feelings, yet here he was just casually suggesting that Naruto temporarily move in?

Sasuke was a complex individual.

“Only if you’d want to. You don’t have to, but I know that Sarada would love it, and it’d make Haku feel safer, you more comfortable, and I-“ Sasuke cut off his ramblings before he revealed too much.

“What? Like a prolonged sleepover?” Naruto chuckled out.

“I wouldn’t mind” was Sasuke’s vague response.

Naruto raised a blonde brow at the other alpha, trying to find any sign that he was just messing with him.

When he found none, a smile broke out on his face.

“You’re one hundred percent sure?” Naruto asked, a tinge of skepticism still lacing his voice.

Naruto truly appreciated the consideration that Sasuke was showing for him and his feelings, but he didn’t want to push Sasuke into anything that he wasn’t comfortable with all because he was insecure about his secondary gender.

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t” Sasuke said bluntly.

Naruto smiled again.

Sasuke was back to normal; stoic face and curt tone.

“Alright then” Naruto said, trying to play it cool, as if Sasuke couldn’t hear his fucking heart about to pound right through his damn sternum.

Sasuke just flashed him his ‘Naruto smirk’ right before said blonde kissed it right off of his soft lips.

Sasuke always had a difficult time restraining himself with Naruto, especially when sleep was the only reason to.

He tilted his head to deepen the kiss, slightly catching Naruto off guard, but he soon returned the deep kiss.

“So you like my scent, huh?” Naruto said in a cheeky tone after he’d pulled away.

“I do” Sasuke said matter of factly as he ground his rapidly hardening length into Naruto’s thigh for proof.

Naruto weighed his options.

_Sleep or earth shatteringly good dick?_

It was the easiest decision that he’d ever had to make.

-

Sasuke had been woken up to the familiar rustling of his blankets as Sarada crawled into his bed.

As per usual now, she cuddled right up to Naruto and basically pushed Sasuke to the edge of his own damn bed.

He had too much on his mind to fall back asleep, so that is what lead him to wandering out in to his kitchen at two twenty in the morning for a glass of water.

He was just about to grab a glass from the cabinet when he heard a knock at his front door.

He was obviously on edge.

Someone knocking at your door at almost three in the morning was almost never a good thing.

When he cracked the door open to avoid them knocking again and waking up Naruto and the kids, it was pushed open.

Sasuke was startled and all of his grogginess was gone in an instant, but the second that he smelled that familiar scent, he knew that it wasn’t a threat, sort of.

As if he had cameras in Sasuke’s house and saw that he would be awake to hear the knocking at the door, Fugaku strolled in like he owned the place.

“What the hell are you doing knocking on my door at two thirty in the morning?” Sasuke bit out as he closed the door.

His father was still dressed in a suit, presumably just having gotten off of work.

_I guess some things never change, huh?_

“I was just informed that Hurano Brokeridge will be backing out of all future business deals that I’ve had planned, undoubtably due to this petty squabble with your wife” Fugaku said in his standard, ice cold tone.

Fugaku hadn’t even spared Sasuke so much as a glance since he’d barged in, that ever present air of superiority that he held really grating Sasuke’s already frayed nerves.

He was looking around as if Sasuke’s apartment were a museum or something, doing anything that he could to avoid truly acknowledging Sasuke.

It was a power move, and Sasuke refused to let it shake him, but the he saw his father’s nose scrunch up in disgust.

He’d caught the scent of Naruto that was coming from the cracked door of his bedroom, and judging by the time, it still probably smelled um, rather ‘strong’.

Fugaku chose that moment to look at him, and his glare was lethal. 

Sasuke tensed and made to step between his father and his bedroom, blocking Fugaku’s path.

“If you want to call a divorce a squabble” Sasuke scoffed out.

“Sakura has come to speak with me, and she is willing to forgive this entire mess” Fugaku said as if that was the end of the conversation.

“I’m no longer your bargaining chip” Sasuke spat.

He was enraged that his father felt that he could show up at his house in the middle of the night and essentially try to demand that he reconcile with a woman that he never wanted to marry in the first place.

This was also the first time that he’d seen his father since finding out about his involvement in Itachi’s death.

He was struggling to bite his tongue.

Fugaku just let out a humorless laugh.

“She’s told me about the kids’ daycare teacher” Sasuke went cold.

“Are you honestly willing to throw away all of your hard work and reputation for a shameful fling? Have I taught you nothing?” Fugaku finished.

“My personal life is no longer any of your concern. Find some other skeevy way to make a quick buck” Sasuke shot back.

His father wouldn’t be stupid enough to send someone to mess with Naruto, he wasn’t a small omega. He was a fairly established alpha with friends and family. He wasn’t immediately concerned for him, so he allowed his anger to get the better of him for the moment.

“Because of me, you were able to get where you are today, you ungrateful brat” Fugaku grit out.

“In spite of, maybe. But I’m done. You no longer control the majority share of my company. The worst that you’re able to do is sell off my patents for pennies on the dollar, but I don’t give a shit” Sasuke growled out, his rage reaching its tipping point.

Fugaku’s eyebrow twitched in irritation, but other than that, he managed to maintain his unbothered facade.

“If you insist on continuing to be a disgrace, I will only warn you that Sakura will have my full legal and financial backing during the divorce proceedings” Fugaku said with a villainous smile.

He really thought that he had Sasuke cornered.

It irritated Sasuke to no end.

“Get out of my house and don’t ever show up here again” Sasuke growled out.

He wanted his father as far away from his children and Naruto as humanly possible.

Another dark laugh from his father.

“Good luck, Sasuke” Fugaku said as he slowly made his way to the door.

Fugaku hadn’t let anything slip; maintained his composure the entire time despite not getting his way, and Sasuke wanted to wipe that smug look off of his face.

Right as Fugaku reached the front door, he turned around and looked as if he was about to say something else, but Sasuke cut him off.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to the disgrace in my bed and let him fuck this interaction out of my memory” Sasuke said coldly as he mercilessly shut the door in his father’s face, finally seeing true anger and shock flash on his face before it shut.

Sasuke smirked to himself as he turned the deadbolt, preparing himself for a long night. 

There was no way that he’d be able to sleep with his rage still boiling right below the surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I am sticking with this story!  
> I apologize for the long breaks, but preparing for Christmas with kiddos has had me super busy.
> 
> Plus, I struggled a bit with this chapter.
> 
> I have some stuff planned for this story that I am very excited for, but I still needed a way to get there and some explanation as to how we will wind up there, hence the filler chapter!
> 
> I didn’t expect for this story to get so plot heavy, but here we are! I just kind of write as I go with a loose plan, so I am open to suggestions!(:
> 
> Just bare with me, I’m hoping you guys will like the next few chapters!(:
> 
> Thank you guys so much for all of the support on the last chapter!<3
> 
> As always, thank you for reading, and I love hearing what you guys think about the chapter and what you think will/want to happen next!<3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The build up has officially begun!  
> Oh and we meet Kiba(;
> 
> I hope you enjoy the newest 9k of my chaotic writing(:

“I’m sorry, what? You’re moving in with him?” Karin exclaimed from where she was sprawled out across Naruto’s finally made bed.

“No, I’m just going to be staying there most nights for a little while” Naruto said like that was somehow different.

“Because he wants an omega to move in with him?” Karin confirmed, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

“No, I mean- well, yeah. Haku is going to be staying with him too, but it’s not like that. It’s complicated, like really complicated” Naruto answered.

He was finding it more and more difficult to hold out on giving Karin more details as things got more complicated. 

Naruto wanted to respect Sasuke’s privacy, but now that Naruto was directly involved, he really just wanted to be able to talk to his sister about it.

His head was still reeling at the fact that Fugaku was responsible for his own son’s death and seemed to be just fine with it, and it’d been almost a month since Sasuke had told him.

“Naruto, it really just sounds like he is trying to have his cake and eat it too” Karin warned gently.

Naruto shut his eyes tightly for a moment.

He was getting irritated at his sister’s constant judgment of Sasuke, but it’s not like it was unwarranted.

Without knowing all of the details, it’s not like it looked great, but he was still tired of it.

“Is Yakeru his kid or something?” Karin asked bluntly.

She was now sitting up and looking at him with an expression that showed that she was being entirely serious.

“What?” Naruto choked out.

He hadn’t expected that.

“You said that Sasuke is having Yakeru and his mom move in with him because ‘he feels a responsibility to them’ and I’ve noticed just how much he looks like Sarada” Karin said.

It’s not like she was being condescending or anything, she seemed to genuinely think that Sasuke had a baby mama or two out there.

To be honest though, it was a pretty solid conclusion to land on from what little information he had provided her with.

“No, Yakeru is his nephew. He looks like Sasuke’s brother, who looked like Sasuke, hence the resemblance” Naruto laughed out.

He found it amusing to see someone else jump straight to the worst option, seeing as how he’d been the one doing it not too long ago.

It put things into perspective for him; made him realize how out of hand things could get without proper communication.

Karin made a face that showed that she was somewhat willing to buy the explanation.

There was an undeniable resemblance between Yakeru and Sasuke, but it was definitely one that could be explained away by that.

“I still don’t get why he is moving into Sasuke’s house, though. If the guy feels so responsible, why not just buy him a place to stay? I know the guy has to have enough money in the bank to buy like ten houses in cash if he wanted to” she asked.

Once again, a fair question.

It was like Naruto’s verbal dam just shattered.

Karin had every right to be concerned, but Naruto wanted her to stop viewing Sasuke as a total dick head all of the time.

So he laid it _all_ out on the table for her.

It had taken quite a bit of time to get through even the cliff notes version of Sasuke and Haku’s story, and even longer for the reasoning behind him getting married to Sakura, but he did it.

He felt like a crushing weight had been lifted off of shoulders when he finally took a deep breath after his drawn out monologue.

He did feel kind of bad for airing out Sasuke’s dirty laundry, but it’s not like he was just gossiping; he was telling his twin sister for fuck’s sake.

Besides, as things between him and Sasuke rapidly progressed, he couldn’t help but try and get her to like the damn guy.

“Woah” Karin said with a look of shock on her face as she processed the mountainous pile of information that Naruto had just dumped onto her.

“Yeah, so you get it know?” Naruto asked, his tone slightly defensive.

“Well, shit. I guess” Karin said, still looking astonished.

Naruto just went back to packing up some extra clothes into his duffel bag while Karin’s mind still visibility raced to analyze everything.

He was almost finished by the time she spoke up again.

“Jesus, no wonder the guy is an ass hole. I would be too” she said crassly.

Naruto just threw his head back and let out a surprising bout of laughter.

He knew his sister well enough to know that meant that she actually understood Sasuke, to a degree, and that she was willing to give him another chance.

-

Naruto was surprisingly content.

Haku and Yakeru had only been at Sasuke’s house for a few hours, but Naruto just had a good feeling about it.

Haku had finished putting away his and Yakeru’s things about an hour ago, insisting on only taking up one of the spare rooms.

He said that Yakeru had always slept in bed with him, and it’s not like it was a small room either. It comfortably fit all of their belongings.

They were now all sprawled out in the living room watching a movie after having just eaten the lunch that Naruto had prepared.

Yakeru and Sarada were laying on the mound of blankets they’d set up on the floor to get the best possible view of the cartoon about singing cats, both of them clearly fighting to keep their eyes open.

Haku was cuddling Ren on his chest as the infant slept soundly in his arms. It was clear from the soft smile on the omega’s face that he was more than happy to stay right where he was with him for however long the baby would want.

It just felt right.

The house felt full and Naruto absolutely loved it.

He’d always wanted a big family, but it just hadn’t ever worked out that way, until now. Sort of.

After years of living alone, he was more than happy to have three kids running or crawling around, making constant noise and messes.

About halfway through the movie, even the adults started to show signs of fatigue.

Haku kept yawning, since the small space heater that he was currently cuddling was comforting and effectively lulling him to sleep, and Sasuke’s head was resting on Naruto’s shoulder.

Sasuke rarely initiated cuddling in any form unless he was tired. Turns out he didn’t hate it as much as he had originally insisted.

Naruto was simply enjoying the rare display of affection and the feeling of Sasuke’s ridiculously soft hair on his neck when there was a knock at the door.

Naruto saw Haku stiffen, but was put on edge when he caught the slight spike in the omega’s scent.

Naruto hated that the omega was so spooked by someone simply knocking on a door, but he guessed that it made sense.

“I got it” Sasuke said as he stood up and quietly made his way around Sarada and Yakeru.

Yakeru was finally out and Sarada wasn’t that far behind him, so he didn’t want to startle them.

Naruto was tempted to follow Sasuke, but stayed put to try and ease Haku’s nerves.

It’s not that Sasuke _needed_ Naruto’s protection, the man was a six foot three alpha, but that didn’t mean that Naruto didn’t want to give it to him anyway.

After Sasuke had told Naruto about Fugaku’s little visit, the blonde had been weary about him just stopping by again.

Sasuke had assured him that the front desk was given clear instruction to never let Fugaku onto the premises again, but that didn’t do much for Naruto’s concerns.

He was sure that a guy like Fugaku Uchiha didn’t hold much stock in the warnings of a building security guard. 

Even Sasuke had been more on edge lately.

It’s not like people just came around knocking on his door all that often. He lived on the top floor in a very nice and exclusive building; unexpected guests were few and far between.

Naruto craned his neck to try and get a decent view of whoever it was that’d knocked, but Sasuke barley had the door cracked and was blocking any and all view of the mystery visitor.

All Naruto heard was Sasuke say yes in a gruff tone before he rudely closed the door in the person’s face.

When Sasuke turned around, Naruto saw that his face was back to emotionless, save for the slight pinch in his brows, signaling that he was upset.

He was gripping a thick manilla envelope so tightly that it had started to crinkle.

“Haku, would you mind taking the kids upstairs for their naps?” Sasuke said.

It was phrased like a question, but it definitely sounded more like a suggestion.

His tone was as impassive as ever, but he had a look in his eyes that told Haku that it was important.

Haku just nodded before standing up with Ren still in his arms.

“Sarada, sweetie, can you wake up Ru so you guys can follow me?” Haku asked.

Sarada simply poked at her younger cousin until he stirred awake, and lead him upstairs behind the boy’s mother.

Once Naruto had heard the sound of a door closing from upstairs, he got up to head to the kitchen, sensing that Sasuke needed a little bit of space.

Naruto busied himself with cleaning up the dishes from their lunch while Sasuke tore open the envelope and began reading it.

When Naruto was done and Sasuke was still reading through the papers, he decided to join Sasuke at the table.

“What’s going on?” Naruto asked.

“I was served” Sasuke scoffed out like it was the most ridiculous thing imaginable.

“Sakura?” Naruto asked.

The pink haired witch was the only logical choice, he was in the process of divorcing her after all.

Sasuke had gotten through about half of the paperwork, and he looked less than thrilled at their contents.

Sasuke gave a curt nod before letting out a spiteful laugh.

“This is all pointless. She signed a prenup, and this is saying that she is fighting for half of everything” Sasuke said it like it was a joke. He didn’t even seemed phased as he picked up the second packet.

“So this is just your dad trying to mess with you?” Naruto asked.

He didn’t know all that much about prenups, obviously never needing one himself, but he was pretty sure that they were iron clad.

“Probably. This says that she is trying to contest i-“ Sasuke had stopped before finishing off his thought as he read over the first part of the paper currently in his hand. 

His jaw was set tightly and he was actually crumpling the paper where he forcefully held it.

He looked to Naruto in disbelief, but he was clearly fuming.

“She wants the kids” Sasuke grit out.

Naruto physically felt his heart drop.

The thought of Sarada and Ren being in the care of anyone that wasn’t himself, Sasuke, or someone that they trusted petrified him.

He wanted them close to him at all times, or at least with someone that he knew loved them and would take good care of them. Sakura did not even come close to fitting that description.

He knew that he had no right to feel that way; she is their mother and he is not, but he felt like she didn’t deserve to even know them.

“But she said she didn’t want them” Naruto said, sounding just as panicked as he felt.

_They’re my pups, not hers!_

In such a short amount of time, he’d gotten so attached to them. He felt as if he’d shown them more motherly love than she ever had, and that they should never be taken away from him. Especially not for petty, selfish reasons. It was just so wrong on so many different levels.

“She did, but that doesn’t mean anything in terms of the law. This” Sasuke said as he held up the first packet, “is notifying me of the legal proceedings for the divorce and Sakura’s demands” Sasuke explained, not even sounding the least bit concerned by it.

“But this one is a court order for me to release the children to her every other weekend until a formal arrangement can be made either between Sakura and I or the family court” he finished with a scoff as he tossed the second packet on to the table.

“But she doesn’t want them! She said that she didn’t!” Naruto gasped out.

He sounded like a broken record, but he just couldn’t wrap his head around it.

It was bad enough that she didn’t want her own children, but to pull some shit like this just to make Sasuke miserable? He really just couldn’t see how someone could be so vile.

He knew that if the kids got taken away from Sasuke that it would devastate him even more than it would Naruto.

He had no idea what the fuck to do or where to even start with unpacking all of this.

Sasuke hadn’t even given Naruto the chance to babble out more incredulous remarks before the other alpha stood up and quickly made his way to the front door.

“Where are you going?” Naruto asked.

He was worried that Sasuke was hoping to somehow find the guy that had served him the papers to try and take out some of his rage on the poor guy.

“I’ll be right back” Sasuke said as he rushed out.

He hadn’t been lying; less than five minutes had passed before Sasuke was walking back in through the front door, but when he returned it was with some other alpha.

He had his hair tied up into a high ponytail and his impassive facial expression almost rivaled Sasuke’s. He was yawning and basically looked as if he’d just rolled out of bed.

If Naruto hadn’t been so preoccupied with freaking the fuck out, he might have actually found that fact amusing, considering that it was almost two in the afternoon. 

“Naruto, this is Shikamaru. Shikamaru, Naruto” Sasuke said as he shoved the papers into Shikamaru’s hands.

Turns out that Shikamaru is Sasuke’s friend, something that shocked Naruto.

He didn’t quite know why, but he hadn’t even considered the fact that Sasuke could actually have friends.

He wasn’t what most people would call a social butterfly.

According to Sasuke, they’d met their sophomore year of college, and managed to stay in touch when they went their separate ways.

Shikamaru was now the head of the legal department at Sasuke’s company, and conventionally happened to live in the same building a few floors below Sasuke.

That was all of the synopsis that Naruto got, seeing as how Sasuke wasn’t particularly in the mood for introductions.

The both of them just resided themselves to waiting impatiently for Shikamaru to finish reading through the documents.

After what had felt like many hours, even if it had only been about fifteen minutes, Shikamaru finally finished skimming over the important parts.

“You’re gonna have to talk to your divorce lawyer to confirm this, but I’m pretty sure this first one is bullshit. There is no way that she can contest her prenup so long as it was solid, and knowing you, it was” Shikamaru said in a bored tone.

Sasuke didn’t seem to care about that bit of information, seeing as how he’d already come to that brilliant conclusion all on his own.

“The part about the kids is tricky though. Usually the mother always gets award primary, if not full custody, until an arrangement can be made. You’re lucky that you’ve been their primary guardian as of late, but I’m pretty sure there is nothing that can be done about it until a judge can make their ruling” Shikamaru said with a sympathetic look.

“But it says that her visitation would start next week” Sasuke said.

He figured that he would more than likely end up having to go through some amount of litigation to get this all sorted, but he didn’t think that he’d have to comply so soon.

“As far as I can tell, this is solid, it’s a court order. There isn’t even any typos in your name, address, or the date that you could use to try and get this dismissed to try and buy some time. I’m sorry, man, but you need to call Jiraya. He’s your divorce attorney and he’ll know a hell of a lot more about family law than I do” Shikamaru said with a sigh as he set all of the papers down.

“She can’t get the kids” Sasuke said to no one in particular.

He was staring off out one of the large windows and his face showed absolutely zero emotion whatsoever.

He wanted that woman nowhere near his children.

Sasuke was feeling an overwhelming need to protect them, and since finding out that Sakura was not a suitable mother for them, he needed to protect them from _her_.

“I know man, but call Jiraya. He might have an ace up his sleeve or something” Shikamaru said with a disheartened sigh as he gripped Sasuke’s shoulder in a respectful show of sympathy.

He left out the part about how Sakura had managed to land herself the most cut throat divorce lawyer in the entire city, figuring that Sasuke didn’t need anymore stress at the moment.

Shikamaru might not know very much about family and divorce law, but he knew that name. He was the only person in the entire hemisphere that stood a fighting chance when going up against Jiraya.

“Thanks” Sasuke said with a nod of his head.

They were clearly both men of few words, which made sense; Naruto couldn’t see Sasuke being friends with someone that was overly chatty. Sure, Naruto talked a lot, but he also let Sasuke fuck him, so there was a balance.

“It was nice meeting you, Naruto” Shikamaru said politely.

“You too” Naruto replied, returning the formality.

It had in fact not been nice meeting him, due to the circumstance, but the alpha obviously had manners. Naruto’s mother would come back from beyond the grave to smack him if he hadn’t returned them.

With that, Shikamaru left so that Sasuke could follow his advice and call his divorce attorney.

Naruto got them both some water as Sasuke meticulously laid out the papers, having gone back and highlighted the most pressing parts.

Naruto now sat across from Sasuke at the table as he spoke to his lawyer.

His phone was resting next to the papers on the table, seeing as how Sasuke had opted to use speakerphone.

He’d done it for both practicality reasons, so that he could rifle through the documents with ease, and so that Naruto could hear the conversation as well.

Sasuke felt that this concerned the blonde just as much as him, the underlying meaning of that feeling was pushed down for the time being.

Sasuke felt as if his brain would short circuit if he piled anymore emotions or problems on his mind.

“You’re sure there aren’t any mistakes in the adress or anything?” The deep voice from Sasuke’s phone asked.

“None” Sasuke answered.

He’d just spent the last thirty minutes rereading the documents to Jiraya word for word and did not like that _that_ was his first question.

It didn’t inspire a whole lot of hope.

“Well kid, you hired a pretty competent lawyer for your company; he’s right. I still want you to fax them over to me Monday morning to be sure, but it sounds like there is nothing that we can do right now” Jiraya said.

Sasuke closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose out of frustration.

“Absolutely nothing? I have text messages from her saying how much she hates having to take care of the kids and I’m supposed to just hand them over to her?” Sasuke grit out in a calm tone that was beyond forced.

“Unfortunately. If you have any evidence that the little ones would be in danger by being in her care, I can get an emergency meeting with the judge, but other than that, we just have to wait. My guess is that there isn’t even a judge assigned to the case yet. They’re moving quick to try and gain the upper hand” Jiraya answered.

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a worried expression, but tried to pull it together when he saw that Sasuke looked just as anxious.

“I’m sure that I can get the evidentiary hearing expedited, though. There is no way that we will be reaching an agreement on anything less than full custody and her parental rights being terminated, so the rest of the usual song and dance is pointless. If we go in aggressive from the start, we should be able to move this along quickly” the voice rang out from the phone.

They heard Jiraya let out a sigh before he continued.

“I won’t lie to you, though. Orochimaru is one snake of a divorce attorney. He will try to block us at every turn and keep things moving slowly so that she maintains her visitation. This is just a ploy to get you to agree to her terms or reconcile with her. I guarantee that he told her that you would eventually just give in to her to keep her away from the kids. It’s the bastard’s MO” Jiraya finished.

Sasuke looked as if he’d already figured as much.

Naruto was appalled.

He’d been fucked over pretty hard in his life at times, but he still managed to have faith that there was still good out there in the world, but this conversation was making him rethink that.

_How could anyone use children like this!? Their own fucking children?_

“If she really is as bad as you say that she is, I’m sure that she won’t be able to last as long as Orochimaru hopes” Jiraya said in an attempt to give them some glimmer of hope.

Sasuke just sighed.

Yeah, Sakura was as bad as he’d said, probably even worse, but if there was one thing that she loved more than she hated having to be responsible for her children, it was money and Sasuke.

He knew the psychopath wouldn’t just give up.

“So I absolutely have to drop the kids off to her Saturday morning?” Sasuke deadpanned.

He honestly felt like he was just going through the motions at this point; he knew the answer, but he also knew that it was smart to confirm absolutely everything with his lawyer first.

“Unfortunately, but I need for you to only be in contact with Sakura when it is absolutely necessary and keep a record of everything. You and Naruto should also talk to Sarada when they get back and keep a log of any little thing that she says was less than positive, alright?” Jiraya said.

“Okay” was all Sasuke had to say.

“I’ll have my secretary fit you in late on Monday after I’ve had time to read everything over for myself” Jiraya replied.

“I’ll make sure that I’m available” Sasuke said.

After saying their professional goodbyes, Sasuke hung up the phone and ran his hand through his hair.

“So there really is nothing we can do?” Naruto asked, desperate for a different answer than they’d just gotten from Shikamaru and Jiraya.

“No” Sasuke said as he shook his head in disbelief.

“Not until I’m able to get in front of a judge to actually explain the situation and show him Sakura’s text messages” he finished.

Naruto didn’t know what the fuck to do.

He wanted to hug Sasuke, he wanted Sasuke to hug him, he just wanted all of this to be some horrible dream.

He felt stuck.

Throughout the draining hour long conversation, neither of them had noticed the sound of sneaking little feet slowly creeping down the stair case.

Sarada had feigned sleep, but as soon as Yakeru, Ren, and Haku had fallen asleep, she had slipped out of the room.

She had done this enough times to be mindful of staying at least halfway up the stairs to ensure that she couldn’t be seen from the dinning room, but when she felt as if she’d start to cry, she ran back to Haku and Yakeru’s room to avoid making any sound.

-

“Yakeru!?” 

Naruto and Sasuke both woke up with start at hearing yelling all of a sudden.

Sasuke jumped and was obviously startled at being yanked out of his sleep so violently, sitting up as he rubbed at his eyes to try and force them to open.

Then they heard it again.

“Yakeru? Where are you!?” 

It was Haku and he sounded panicked.

That’s when Sasuke noticed the unusually roomy bed.

Sarada wasn’t in bed.

She was always curled up in Sasuke’s bed in the mornings.

Naruto took notice of Sarada not being with them right at about the same time, instantly trying to get out of bed.

He was clumsily fighting with the large duvet, and losing, but he eventually made it out alive, wasting no time in running out to the living room.

Sasuke was right behind him, both of them frantically looking around for Sarada.

Haku came rushing down the stairs and he looked worried sick.

His head was rapidly turning in hopes of spotting his son.

“Haku, what’s going on?” Sasuke asked, his tone a very forced calm.

“Yakeru wasn’t in bed when I woke up” Haku rushed out.

Both alphas knew that Yakeru never got up in the mornings without first waking up his mother.

This was an omega mother who’s pup was missing, and Sasuke was an alpha father in the same boat; things would get ugly soon if they couldn’t find the kids.

Naruto could hear Ren crying from upstairs, so he decided he could search with the infant on his hip.

Naruto was about to tell Sasuke to check if the security system was still armed or if there was a log of the door being opened, but the other alpha was already on it.

“I’ll go check upstairs and grab Ren, you guys look down here” Naruto said as he was already halfway up the staircase.

After grabbing Ren, he did a quick scan of all of the rooms upstairs, but after seeing no sign of the kids, he pushed down his panic and took his time to search through the rooms more thoroughly.

When he was back in Sarada’s room, he checked behind her bed and under her table, but still nothing.

It wasn’t until he slid open the door to her closet that he let out a sigh of relief.

He hurried over to the door and poked his head out into the hallway, hearing the frantic searching of Sasuke and Haku.

“They’re up here in Sarada’s room!” Naruto called out.

Not but two seconds later, the sound of pounding footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.

The relieved parents looked wild, hair a mess and Sasuke still shirtless from having been thrown into this mess of a search party directly after waking up.

“Closet” Naruto said to ease their worries.

All three adults were standing at the opening of the closet to take a minute to admire the adorable sight of Sarada and Yakeru cuddled up in their blankets, fast asleep.

It wasn’t until they noticed all of the juice boxes and snacks stashed around them, that they thought to wake them up.

Sasuke reached in and plucked Sarada’s mischievous little ass right out of the closet.

Naruto practically swooned at the sight of him squeezing her form endearingly after having been so worried.

It wasn’t a common occurrence for Sasuke to get all lovey dovey, even with the kids.

Haku picked up his son, and as the kids began stir against their parent’s chests, they all made their way into the living room.

By the time the kids had been placed onto the couch, they were both wide awake and looking rather disgruntled.

“Why were you in your closet? You guys almost gave all of us heart attacks?” Naruto asked.

The two cousins just looked guiltily at each other.

“If you guys want to have a sleepover, it’s not a big deal, but you can’t do it without letting us know and you definitely can’t do it somewhere where you’re hidden like that” Naruto added on in hopes of getting them to talk.

He made his living dealing with kids, and he could tell from the looks on their faces that they were up to something that they thought they’d get in trouble for.

Judging by the impressive pile of juice and snacks they had hoarded, Naruto figured that they were trying to sneak in some sweets after bedtime, a fairly benign offense.

“Sarada didn’t want to hide ‘lone” Yakeru said meekly as he avoided looking at his cousin.

The pointed stare coming from his mother was clearly stronger than his ability to keep their secret.

“So you were hiding?” Sasuke asked in a gently authoritative tone.

Both children just nodded as they looked at their feet.

_That explains the snacks, they’d planned on being in there for a while._

During the last week, the two cousins had grown quite close, and it was adorable, but also a handful at times.

Who would have thought that such shy kids could turn out to be so mischievous when paired together?

“Why did you want to hide in the first place, Sarada?” Naruto asked.

He thought that Sasuke was a great father, but he was clearly still a little worked up from the bout of panic earlier. He figured it was best for him to take the lead on this one.

Naruto asked his question in a gentle tone, but his expression showed that he did expect an answer.

“I don’t want to go” Sarada whispered out weakly after a few moments.

Naruto practically felt his heart break.

In the midst of all of the chaos, he had completely forgotten that he and Sasuke were supposed to drop Sarada and Ren off at Sakura’s in just one hour.

She had been hiding so that she wouldn’t have to leave.

She had been adamant about not wanting to go when Sasuke had first told her, but there just wasn’t anything that could be done to avoid it.

Jiraya was working on moving things along, but they were at a stalemate for now.

“Hey, none of that, c’mere” Naruto said as he noticed Sarada starting to sniffle.

He crouched down so that she could curl up against his side for one of his famous ‘Naru hugs’.

It seemed to help a little bit, but she was still very obviously upset.

“We don’t want you to have to go spend the weekend with your mom either, but she misses you” Naruto lied.

There was no way in hell that he was about to tell a four year old the real reasoning behind these bullshit visits.

“But you _are_ my mommy and I don’t care if you tell me you aren’t! You are!” Sarada wailed as she buried her face into Naruto’s t-shirt.

Naruto felt so selfish for being as happy as he was in that moment, but he was.

Obviously he wasn’t thrilled about Sarada crying, but hearing her call him her mom while he actually got to take care of her like he was, fulfilled him in a way that nothing else ever had before.

-

After an insane amount of convincing, bribing, and just straight up forcing, Sasuke finally managed to get Sarada into his damn car.

It was a tense drive for all of them, even if it only lasted about ten minutes.

Naruto wanted nothing more than for Sasuke to just say fuck it to the court order and turn the car around, but unfortunately, they eventually pulled up to an apartment building even nicer than Sasuke’s.

This one was right in the middle of town and looked like something out of a movie.

_She fucking would live here._

Naruto didn’t even make an attempt at trying to hide his eye roll.

It looked like you needed to pay a hefty fee just to walk by the place.

Naruto got Sarada out of the car while Sasuke worked on getting Ren unbuckled.

Sasuke and he had agreed beforehand that it would be for the best if Naruto didn’t come to the door with them.

As much as it pained the blonde to leave his pups, he understood the necessity.

Sasuke being uncooperative would not look good in court, and Naruto showing up would just piss Sakura off even further.

“We’ll be back to pick you up right at five o’clock on Sunday, okay? And we won’t forget to call to say goodnight, I promise” Naruto said in an attempt to get Sarada to stop pouting.

She just wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life.

She perked up a little bit when she saw the police station a little down the street from over Naruto’s shoulder.

“Okay” she huffed out, still pissed off about having to be here.

Naruto gave her another squeeze before letting her go.

When they separated, Sasuke was standing above them with Ren in one arm and the kids’ backpacks slung over the other.

He had his hand held out for Sarada to take it, but he looked moments away from losing it.

His jaw was clenched and anyone could tell that his movements were forced; his inner alpha urging him to not leave his kids with Sakura.

“I love you, Naru” Sarada said sadly.

Naruto just placed a kiss to the top of her head before saying, “I love you, too”.

This is the first time that he’s ever said it back to her.

He always used to just give her a hug or kiss her on the head when she’d say that she loved him, never feeling like it was his place to verbally return the sentiment. He’d always worried that Sasuke would think he was overstepping.

But now he did, because even if he was overstepping, he loved that little girl with all of his heart.

She was his pup no matter what Sakura, or anybody else that wasn’t Sarada or Sasuke had to say about it.

-

“Well hey there, you lost little one?” The police officer asked with a friendly smile.

He had just been walking back to the station from lunch, and right before he could walk up the steps, he felt a tug at his pant leg.

“No. I know where I am. I’m looking for Shishi” Sarada said matter of factly.

The police officer let out a chuckle, not expecting such an eloquent and sure response from a young child that was all alone in the middle of a busy city.

Most children that were unaccompanied tended to be crying and yelling for their mom.

“Shishi? Is that your dog?” He asked.

This wouldn’t be the first time that a kid thought that a missing pet was a police matter.

“No, he’s a police like you” she said with the startings of a pout.

She may only be a kid, but she knew when someone wasn’t taking her seriously.

“Shishi Uchiha” she said with her arms crossed.

She couldn’t for the life of her remember what Shishi’s actual name was, she has always just called him Shishi for as long as she could remember.

The police officer stood up straight and his eyes widened the slightest bit.

“Chief Uchiha? You’re looking for Shisui?” He asked.

“Yes please” Sarada clarified, remembering that her dad told her to always say please when asking for something.

He was confused, but wasn’t about to turn the kid away.

“Oh, alright then. Why don’t you follow me and we’ll go see if he’s in” he said as he put his hand on Sarada’s shoulder to lead her up the stairs and into the station.

“Anko, do you know if Chief Uchiha is in right now?” He asked the female officer sitting behind the huge desk that greeted them right as they walked in.

“Yeah, he’s in his office, but he said something about heading to a meeting soon or something” she said in a bored tone as she continued to fill out her paperwork, not even glancing up at the pair.

The police officer simply nodded at her and looked to Sarada.

“Just follow me. We’ll go see if we can catch him” he said.

He was hesitant to interrupt the chief, seeing as how he was always busy as hell, but it’s not like a whole lot of young kids new the chief of police by name and had a nickname for him.

That, paired with the fact that the kid was all alone in the middle of the city with only the chief’s name to give him, told him that it’d probably be worth interrupting his day.

For all he knew it was Chief Uchiha’s kid; the guy almost never talked to him unless it was for a reprimand, so he really didn’t want to fuck up by turning his kid away.

Especially after last week.

He was just a beat cop, but he’d finally been let in on an operation last week.

He’d been trying to make detective for years, and he’d finally had his shot, but one thing lead to another and his partner had ended up wounded and the whole thing had basically been for nothing.

They’d gotten no useful intel and tipped off the suspects in the process. Needless to say, he’d screwed the pooch on his one big chance and the chief had ripped him a new ass hole for it.

He had been put on desk duty and was lucky to still have his badge.

Maybe helping this kid out, whoever they were to Chief Uchiha, would put him back in his good graces. Lord knows that he needs it.

He lead Sarada through the maze of the precinct until they reached his desk.

“Sit tight, kid. I’m gonna go see if Chief Uchiha is busy” he said as he pulled out his chair for her and set down some paper and highlighters for her to keep herself busy with in the meantime.

Sarada just nodded as she uncapped one of the markers.

The police officer began making his way to the glass door of the Chief’s office.

He hadn’t expected to literally run into the very man that he was looking for right as he turned the corner.

“Inuzuka?” Shisui grunted out as his shoulder made contact with Kiba’s chest. He did not sound happy.

He had literally just finished the mountain of paperwork that had been caused by Kiba’s monumental fuck up, so Kiba was the last person that Shisui wanted to see right now.

“Uh, hi Chief. There is a kid at my desk that was roaming around by herself earlier and asking for you by name” Kiba rushed out after seeing how impatient Shisui looked.

Shisui just raised his eyebrow in confusion.

He couldn’t think of any kid that would know him and would possibly be walking around by themselves.

“She called you Shishi” Kiba tacked on.

That got Shisui’s attention.

He could only think of one little girl that called him that.

“She’s at your desk?” Shisui asked, not even waiting for an answer as he made his way in that direction.

“Yes, sir” Kiba said as he hurried to catch up to Shisui.

When they rounded the final corner, Kiba’s desk was in sight and Shisuiinstantly looked worried.

“Sarada?” He said, not really sounding like he was asking, just trying to get her attention.

It was clear that he did know the little girl by the way that she jumped up into his arms as soon as she saw him.

“Shishi!” She cheered as he picked her up.

“Hey, kiddo. What are you doing here and where is your dad?” Shisui asked, sounding concerned.

He knew that there was no way in hell that Sasuke would let Sarada out of his sight. He was worried that something might have happened to his younger cousin.

“I’m looking for Judge, and daddy always says you know everyone. Can you take me to them, Shishi?” She asked as he set her back down in the desk chair.

“Judge? Sarada what’s going on?” Shisui asked as he kneeled to be at her eye level.

“Daddy told Naru that I have to go visit my mom until he can talk to Judge, but I want to tell him that I don’t want to go with my mom. I want to stay with Naru and daddy” she said proudly.

She really thought that this was the prefect and most well thought out plan.

Understanding dawned on Shisui. 

He had talked to Sasuke not too long ago, and he had briefly mentioned that he would have to be going to court with Sakura.

“ _The_ judge, Sarada?” Shisui said with a chuckle.

She tilted her head in confusion and thought back to the conversation that she’d overheard.

She smiled and nodded after deciding that sounded right enough.

“I can’t take you to the judge, I’m sorry. But you still haven’t answered me, what are you doing here all by yourself?” He asked.

“I was at my mom’s house” she said as she folded her arms over her chest and pouted.

“She wouldn’t get off the phone when Ren was taking his nap. I saw the police station when daddy dropped me off, so I left and came here to find you and Judge” she said, sounding guilty.

She clearly knew that she’d done something that she wasn’t supposed to.

Shisui just sighed and shook his head.

“I have an important meeting to get to, kiddo, so I’m gonna need you to stay with Kiba, okay? I’ll call your dad and tell him that you’re here so that he can come and get you” Shisui said as he reluctantly looked at his watch.

He was pissed that Sakura allowed his four year old niece to just get out and roam the streets.

“Okay, Shishi. Are you coming to dinner soon?” She asked with a renewed excitement at hearing that she’d be going home with her dad.

“Sure, kiddo. I’ll talk to your dad about it when I call him, promise” he said as he stood up.

“Love you Shishi!” She called out as Shisui made his way back over to Kiba who was still resting up against the wall.

“You too” he said with a chuckle before turning around to face Kiba, any traces of a smile completely gone from his face.

“She’s my niece, so you’d better keep an eye on her. You’re on kid duty until I get back or her dad gets here. Take her to my office and release her to no one but Sasuke Uchiha” Shisui said sternly before turning to walk the other way without even waiting for a response.

Without so much as a look back at Kiba, he fished his phone out of his pocket and pulled up Sasuke in his contacts.

He knew that Sasuke would be out for blood after this one.

-

“Sarada?” Sasuke asked frantically as he barged into Shisui’s office.

The last thing that he had expected to get today was a phone call from Shisui telling him that his four year old had wandered into the police station all by herself because Sakura couldn’t have been bothered to pay her any mind.

This was now twice in one day that his daughter had managed to nearly send him into full blown cardiac arrest.

He somewhat relaxed when he saw his daughter kicking her legs as she was spun around in Shisui’s chair by a brunette police officer.

This had to be Kiba. Shisui had told Sasuke that if he wasn’t there, that it’d be one of his subordinates named Kiba.

Right as Sasuke was about to grab Sarada, Naruto came rushing in, making Sasuke feel a little bad about just sprinting off and leaving him to jump in the driver’s seat and deal with legally parking the car.

His blue eyes went wide and his scent instantly spiked with a fearful quality.

“Get the hell away from her!” Naruto shouted as he rushed over to scoop Sarada up into his arms.

“Naruto?” Kiba asked, looking completely shocked.

“Don’t you ever come near her again” Naruto grit out, absolutely seething now.

Sasuke was concerned with how quickly his boyfriend had gone from anxious to angry and with how he was blowing up on the guy.

“She came up to me, I didn’t want to just leave her walking around alone” Kiba said, getting somewhat defensive at having an alpha tone used on him.

”Is she yours?” Kiba asked after taking a moment to calm his irritation at the alpha tone.

He had been given express orders to not release Sarada to anyone that wasn’t Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke found the look of confusion of the officer’s face rather strange. He almost looked surprised.

“Yes” Naruto growled out protectively as he huddled Sarada close to his chest and glared at Kiba.

Even in the midst of this shit show, Sasuke felt his heart warm at Naruto’s words and the sight of him protecting her so fiercely.

He’d never seen Sakura protect their children like Naruto was.

Sasuke was curious about what the hell had gotten into Naruto, but right now he needed to worry about getting to Sakura’s house and picking up Ren.

“I’m Sasuke Uchiha, Sarada’s father. I need to pick up my son from my ex wife’s house and Shisui said that he notified two officers that they’d be escorting me” he said, his tone indicating just how much of a hurry that he was in.

Kiba eyed Naruto wearily, seeing as how the blonde alpha was giving him a glare that put even Sasuke’s to shame as he continued to let off waves of his scent to ward Kiba off.

“Yeah, Juugo and Suigetsu. I’ll go let them know you’re here” Kiba said as he gave Naruto a look that Sasuke didn’t have the brain capacity to decipher at the moment.

Until he had his son back, his mind was occupied with making sure that he was safe.

Kiba carefully exited Shisui’s office, watching Naruto as if he thought the usually gentle alpha would attack him for some reason.

Sasuke understood why when he looked over to Naruto to see him still cradling Sarada as if she were somehow in danger, despite Kiba having left.

“Are you alright, what’s going on?” Sasuke asked, concern lacing every syllable.

Naruto jumped and snapped out of his sudden alpha craze at hearing Sasuke’s calming voice.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah, I’m fine” Naruto said as he continued to hold Sarada close to his chest, much to the four year old’s delight.

Sasuke raised a brow in skepticism, not fully believing Naruto’s words.

The drastic and rapid changes in Naruto’s demeanor that he’d just witnessed worried him.

He was endeared to think that it came out of worry for his childrens’ wellbeing, seeing as how she had been with an alpha that neither of them knew, but he had an inkling that it stemmed from something deeper than that.

Now that he thought about it, Kiba had addressed Naruto by name.

Before he could press the matter any further, two police officers knocked on the door to Shisui’s office.

When Sasuke stepped out into the hallway, he was met by an ridiculously large alpha, dwarfing even himself, and a much more reasonably sized beta with white hair.

Sasuke took a look around, and Kiba was nowhere in sight so that he could thank him for bringing his daughter to Shisui and keeping an eye on her.

He shook off the strangeness of the previous interaction and followed the two police officers out of the building.

They walked the short distance to Sakura’s building, Naruto still refusing to let go of Sarada.

Sasuke was put somewhat at ease hearing his daughter chat Naruto’s ear off about all of the things that they could do now that she was getting to come home with them, but then he heard Naruto’s far off responses.

He was never like that with Sarada.

He always hung on her every word and gave her his undivided attention, so Sasuke knew that something was off.

The boisterous blonde seemed so dissociated.

Sasuke just needed to hurry up and pick up Ren so that he could focus on making sure that Naruto was okay.

He felt his inner alpha scratching at the surface to soothe him, and it was starting to get him agitated, well, even more agitated than he already was.

He forced himself to ignore the feeling for now, and soon they were at the very door that Sasuke had been forced to drop his kids off at less than five hours ago.

Sasuke mercilessly pounded on the door in a commanding fashion, not ceasing until the door was flung open by a frazzled looking Sakura.

For the first time in all of the years that Sasuke had known her, she wasn’t perfectly put together.

She looked as if she’d been running around her house, more than likely in search of Sarada.

Sasuke didn’t think for a second that she’d done it out of love for their daughter or fear for her safety; he knew that she was just worried about the repercussions that come with losing a child while trying to obtain custody.

Sakura’s eyes went wide when she saw Sasuke standing next to Naruto, who was still holding Sarada, and the two police officers standing behind them.

She opened her mouth to try and come up with good enough of an excuse to get of this, but Sasuke cut her off before she could even start.

“Missing something?” He growled out.

He was beyond furious at his ex wife.

Had Sarada not been smart enough to find a police officer, something horrible that Sasuke didn’t even want to think about could have happened.

The omega once again opened her mouth to speak, but Sasuke was not in the mood.

“Go get my son” he grit out, his tone daring her to try and not comply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would appear that the consistent updating has returned!
> 
> I am hoping to crank out the next few chapters fairly quickly, because I AM EXCITED!
> 
> Questions will be answered and things will really start to unfold!(:
> 
> As always, thank you guys so very much for reading, and I am curious as to what you guys thought about this chapter and what you think will happen next<3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what the hell did Kiba do?
> 
> TW: More angst than I originally planned for, but I wouldn’t say that it’s too too bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this up last night, but after editing it, I couldn’t save it due to the crash.  
> Love that for me.
> 
> But I re-edited this bitch and here we are!

Naruto was in the process of getting the kids all buckled up into the car while Sasuke finished up back inside of the police station.

He was giving his statement to one of the officers that had escorted them to Sakura’s.

Jiraya had been glad to hear that Sarada was safe, but there was no hiding how ecstatic he was about Sakura having lost track of her.

He told Sasuke to make sure that he documented the situation with the police so that he could fax over a copy to him as soon as humanly possible.

Apparently this is exactly what they needed to put a stop to any and all unsupervised visits.

“What were you thinking by just walking out into the city all by yourself?” Naruto chastised Sarada as he adjusted Ren’s chest strap, careful to avoid waking him.

“I’m sorry, Naru. I just wanted to come home” she said with a strategic puppy dog face.

Naruto just sighed.

How in the hell was he supposed to be mad after hearing that?

He was just happy that she was safe.

He and Sasuke had been trying to distract themselves from the emptiness of the house in some not so innocent ways, but the second that Sasuke’s personal phone rang, he was up in an instant.

Naruto had never felt fear like that before in his life.

When Sasuke had told him that Sarada just left Sakura’s house and walked herself to the police station, his mind went blank and he thought of nothing else but getting to her and Ren.

He really wanted to be mad at her for scaring him and Sasuke like that, but with the way that she was looking up at him, he knew that it was simply impossible.

“I know, love, but that wasn’t the way to go about it. You could’ve gotten really hurt” Naruto warned.

He just wanted to cuddle up with the kids on the couch to ensure that they really were okay and that they wouldn’t be leaving his side anytime soon, but no. He had to force himself to actually try and act like a responsible parent, or guardian, or whatever the hell he was.

He felt like a parent. Sasuke asked for his opinion on parenting matters, but at the end of the day, he wasn’t their parent. He was confused as to what he should do, not wanting to overstep, but he felt so strongly about the kids that he almost couldn’t avoid it.

“I went straight to Kiba so that I wouldn’t!” She said in defense. She couldn’t stand the thought of Naruto being mad at her.

Naruto stiffened at hearing that name.

It’d been bad enough to see her next to Kiba when he had already been worried sick, but now he just felt paralyzed.

It’d been years since he’d actually had to hear that name, minus Karin’s brief slip up, but he still thought about the other alpha all the time.

It plagued his mind.

Seeing him made all of the progress that Naruto thought he’d made over the years, just vanish without a trace.

Seeing him watching over his baby literally made his skin crawl. He never wanted that alpha to even set his eyes on either of his pups.

“We’ll talk more when your dad gets back” he said, no longer in the mood to talk, not even to Sarada.

He closed the back door after she gave him an adorable pout and a very Sasuke like huff.

He took a moment to just breath and run his hands over his face in an attempt to pull it together.

He just knew that Sasuke would ask him about why he blew up on Kiba, and on the list of things that he wanted to do, that was below hanging out with Sakura.

The blonde alpha stood up straight and cracked his neck to try and relieve some of the tension that wracked his entire body, but right as he was about to climb into the passenger seat, he heard his name being called.

He didn’t even need to turn around to know exactly who the voice belonged to.

At one point in time, he’d known it well.

Naruto now very much regretted not leaving the back parking lot of the precinct quicker.

He made to quickly open his door when he heard footsteps picking up their pace.

“Naruto, hey. Will you just hold up?” Kiba said as he reached Sasuke’s SUV.

Naruto stilled his movements but had yet to turn around to face the other alpha.

“What could you possibly have to say to me?” Naruto bit out.

Kiba was startled to see how drastically Naruto had changed from when they’d known each other.

The Naruto that he had once known would never speak to anyone with such a venomous tone.

He had no idea just how jaded Naruto had become, largely because of him.

“Look, I just- all I wanted to do was say that I’m sorry. I never meant for things to get so out of hand” Kiba rushed out. 

He and Naruto were now making eye contact in the reflection of the dark tint on the window.

Naruto’s eyes were anything but friendly and he was halfway to snarling.

Naruto had thought for years that all he’d need to get over all of his issues was a genuine apology from the source, but now that he had it, he was sorely disappointed.

The apology did absolutely nothing but make him want to beat the shit out of Kiba.

His inner alpha had not forgotten that Kiba was once a threat, and he was literally itching to ‘defend’ himself.

“That’s all you have? I’m sorry?” Naruto scoffed out as he finally turned around.

Kiba weighed his options.

He really did feel horribly about what he’d done to Naruto, and the blonde had every right to tell him to just fuck right off, but he would feel like utter crap if he didn’t at least try to make amends.

“I real-“ Kiba started to continue his profuse apologizing when Sasuke approached them. 

“What’s going on?” Sasuke asked as he came to stand between Kiba and Naruto, his hand instinctually gripping onto the blonde’s wrist.

“Nothing, I was just catching up with an old friend” Kiba answered.

He wasn’t delusional enough to think that Naruto would ever regard him as a friend, even in the past tense, but he didn’t want to piss of his boss’ intimidating cousin.

Naruto just scoffed as he placed his hand onto the small of Sasuke’s back.

Sasuke gave him comfort, and touching him only amplified the effect.

“It doesn’t seem like he is in the mood for catching up” Sasuke said in a warning tone as he squared his broad shoulders.

He could tell that Naruto was both angry and scared the second that he’d seen him.

The man was incapable of hiding his emotions and his scent basically called out for Sasuke to intervene.

“Yeah, alright” Kiba said as he held his hands up to show that he meant no harm.

“I really meant it, Naruto” Kiba sighed out after some tense eye contact between him and Sasuke.

Sasuke felt Naruto grip his shirt where his hand rested on his back and he could sense that’d done nothing but upset him further.

Now that he knew his children were safe, he no longer felt like holding back on soothing Naruto from whatever was bothering him.

“I think it’s best you leave” Sasuke growled out, his eyes fierce in warning.

Kiba simply backed away until he deemed it safe to turn his back, leaving Sasuke confused and concerned.

-

Despite Sarada’s excitement about getting to play with Naruto and Yakeru once they got home, she spent the entire time curled up on the couch with Naruto and Ren.

They watched movies and read books, but Naruto hadn’t been apart from the kids for longer than it took for him to change Ren’s diaper.

He insisted on getting both of the children ready for bed and then even putting them to sleep himself.

Usually he and Sasuke would split up and take on one kid each to make things more efficient, but Sasuke could sense that Naruto needed this.

It did things to Sasuke’s heart and inner alpha to see his children so undeniably cared for.

Sure, Naruto had been far off, much like when they’d been walking to Sakura’s to pick up Ren, but he was still there for them.

Sasuke didn’t really care to question it anymore, but as situations kept arising, he couldn’t help but wonder why his inner alpha was so invested in the blonde with the beautiful blue eyes.

Sasuke himself being interested wasn’t really a shock, what wasn’t there to like about Naruto? There was just the fact that he was an alpha, but Sasuke still felt drawn to him.

Sasuke’s inner alpha should be neutral, at best, about the other alpha, but it wasn’t. Not even close.

He wanted to comfort him, protect him, he even felt the ‘pull’ that everyone always talked about.

Hearing Naruto actually claim his daughter as his own today should have pissed off his inner alpha to no end, but it only solidified his decision to take the chance and be with him, further.

He was dying to know what had gotten Naruto so worked up about Kiba, so that he might be able to help, and that is what got him on that train of thought in the first place.

He was attempting to process everything to try and keep busy while Naruto put the kids down for the night.

As endearing as it was to see Naruto cuddled up with his children, he ached to be the one surrounding him with comfort.

With all that Naruto did for him, he wanted to be the first one that the blonde came to for comforting.

He felt like he was going out of his mind with the amount of shit going on.

There was the whole trying to get his murderous father locked up thing, the having a nephew all of a sudden thing, the divorce and custody thing, and now there was the actually having feelings thing.

Even with all of that weighing on him, just having Naruto around made it feel like a leisurely stroll in the park.

He was pondering all of this when said blonde suddenly walked right past him and entered his bedroom.

It struck Sasuke as odd that Naruto just breezed right past him, seeing as how the blonde clung to him more than his children at times.

Sasuke got up and followed him, only to find him brushing his teeth and preparing to go to sleep.

Sasuke had questions, but understood that Naruto needed a minute.

He went to the second sink and copied Naruto’s actions.

When they were both in comfortable pants and under the covers, Sasuke simply laid his arm out across the pillow as an invitation for Naruto.

To his surprise, Naruto nestled in right against his chest.

With how distant he’d been all day, Sasuke thought that it would’ve taken more than that, but Naruto clearly needed it.

He was practically purring as Sasuke ran his hand through Naruto’s unruly hair.

“So I take it that you know Kiba?” Sasuke asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Naruto had just started to really get comfortable and was well on his way to falling asleep, but the second that he heard that name, he was wide awake.

Sasuke both heard and felt Naruto’s sharp intake of breath.

After a telling hesitation, Naruto just whispered out a quiet “Yeah”.

“Can I ask why you looked like you wanted to attack him for just being near Sarada?” Sasuke asked bluntly.

He had been thinking of possible theories all day, and all of them made him want to go back to the police station and rip the alpha in question apart.

To make someone as kind as Naruto snap like that, he knew that it couldn’t be good.

“No” Naruto sighed out as he snuggled further into Sasuke’s chest in a childish attempt to get out of talking.

Sasuke let out a tired chuckle.

He may be grumpy, but Naruto was undeniably cute when he was moody.

“Well, let me try this then. Is the reasoning behind it important?” Sasuke asked.

When he received no answer from Naruto, he took that as a yes.

“I won’t force you to tell me, but if it is important, I don’t want you to feel like you can’t tell me” Sasuke said.

He was now trailing his fingers lightly up and down the firm muscles on Naruto’s back to try and coax something out of him.

Naruto always turned into a pliant ball of mush whenever Sasuke was physically affectionate with him, but all Naruto did was let out a tired hum in acknowledgement.

Sasuke figured that he wouldn’t press the issue any further tonight; they’d both had a long ass day and could use some sleep.

He continued to trace soothing shapes onto Naruto’s back, halfway to sleep himself when Naruto suddenly spoke up.

Had the room not been dead silent before, Sasuke would have probably missed it with how quietly Naruto spoke.

“I dated him in college” Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke felt irritation prick at the mention of Naruto dating anyone that wasn’t him, but pushed it down to focus on Naruto.

Kiba being an ex of Naruto’s was the start of some of his more unpleasant theories.

“Was it serious?” Sasuke asked after Naruto hadn’t continued.

Another sigh from Naruto.

“I thought it was at the time, but I doubt he felt the same way” Naruto said.

“Why do you say that?” Sasuke asked.

He couldn’t for the life of him see how anyone could be involved with Naruto in a romantic capacity and not be serious about it.

He’d tried to keep things casual himself, but failed miserably. The blonde just drew people in so effortlessly.

He couldn’t fathom how anyone could not fall for the loveable idiot.

“He always kept me a secret” Naruto said with a lazy shrug.

His choice of words made it seem as if he was unbothered by the situation, but his tone was laced with a fair amount of pain.

He sounded small and like he wanted to just disappear, and Sasuke wanted nothing more than to never have to hear that tone come out of his mouth ever again.

“Naruto, what happened between the two of you?” Sasuke asked seriously.

He didn’t want Naruto to think that he was jealous and that he’d be upset by being told the truth, but he also wanted Naruto to feel safe enough to talk to him.

When Naruto told Sasuke about how he’d explained their situation to Karin in minor detail, he’d been kind of upset.

At first he thought that it had to do with Naruto telling something extremely private to someone that he is not particularly fond of, but upon further inspection, that wasn’t the case.

Karin is someone important to Naruto, therefore, she isn’t unimportant to Sasuke, so him telling her about his family issues wasn’t all that big of an problem.

It was the fact that Naruto told Sasuke that Karin was the one person that he felt he could talk to without any real judgement.

Rationally, Sasuke knew that it was probably just the wording that bothered him. Naruto had told him time and time again that he felt safe with Sasuke, so he didn’t think Naruto meant that he didn’t trust Sasuke, but it still rubbed him the wrong way.

He wanted the other alpha to feel safe talking to him about anything, because he wanted to help him get through anything that was bothering him.

He knew that whatever happened with Kiba was definitely bothering Naruto.

Naruto sighed again and repositioned himself so that he was as comfortable as possible, both being good signs.

“We met our first year. We had a theater appreciation class together” Naruto started.

He took a few moments to gather his thoughts, not having talked about this in years. 

“He was some frat guy, but even that class was too difficult for him. He’d always ask me for help on analyzing Shakespeare. We eventually started spending some time together outside of class so I could help him” Naruto said as he started to nervously trace the outline of one of the tattoos on Sasuke’s abdomen.

“One thing lead to another and we wound up sleeping together. I’d told him everything about how I am because I thought that he was my friend, and he seemed more than okay to be with me, but it was never in public. Once we hit our second year, I started to ask him about it, but he’d always just tell me that he wasn’t ready for people to know about him being with me” Naruto continued.

Since Naruto wasn’t looking at him, Sasuke didn’t have to repress his eye roll.

He sarcastically wondered how many gay guys have had to hear that shit before.

“He would always say something about his dad being a hard ass, and me being the idiot that I am, I believed him. We dated for almost three years, yet all of his fraternity brothers thought that we were just friends. The sad part is that I was okay with it” Naruto sighed out.

“I thought that I’d never find an alpha willing to be with me and figured I’d just be alone forever, but then he came along. It was great when we were alone, so I just let it happen. He would spout off shit about how one day, when he didn’t need his dad to pay for his schooling, that he’d tell everyone and we’d get married, adopt a bunch of kids, the whole shabang” Naruto scoffed out.

Sasuke’s eyebrow twitched in irritation at someone telling Naruto those things, especially if they didn’t mean them.

Naruto had stopped talking and was taking in some deep breaths, feeling his heart rate rising a bit as he got closer to the reason why he and Kiba broke up.

Sasuke would have thought that might be it, it was definitely enough reason to hold a grudge against someone, but he knew Naruto better than that.

He had been making a genuine effort to pay more attention in order to improve his communication skills, or lack thereof.

Sasuke squeezed gently at Naruto’s arm in a silent show of support.

The action had the desired effect.

“I was a good student, I had to keep up my grades for my scholarship, and our third year I was planning on going to law school. I wanted to work with social workers or something to do with kids, but that idiot spent too much time partying and still had only freshman credits. He spewed some bullshit about not wanting to be apart when I graduated, and I let him convince me to take a lighter course load so I could stick around for at least an extra year. I knew that wouldn’t look good to a law school, so I just changed my major to business” Naruto said with a poorly concealed edge of irritation.

He was so angry at how pathetic this all made him sound.

“Anyway, he had this friend named Pakura, and she was this insanely attractive omega. They were really close, and I’d always hated it, but I didn’t want to seem jealous and controlling, so I never really said anything about it” Naruto said as he squeezed his eyes shut to relieve the pressure from holding back his tears.

“One day he just showed up in the quad with her, and she held his mark, something I’d asked for more than once” Naruto practically whimpered out.

Sasuke held in his angry growl and opted to just pull Naruto closer.

“I tried to talk to him about it when I first saw them. He asked her to go get them a spot so that we could talk. He explained about how ‘it just kind of happened’ because her heat suddenly hit when they were at a party. He tried to apologize and say that he hadn’t been able to control it, and that he couldn’t end things with her because she wasn’t on birth control and probably pregnant” Naruto sighed out.

He found comfort in Sasuke actually being the one to initiate physical affection for once, but it did little to mend the pain that was brought up with having to remember all of this.

“He literally just walked away like that explanation was good enough. I just stood there, frozen in the middle of campus trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. I was so shocked and confused that I just went and holed up in my room with Karin until I could figure everything out” Naruto said.

“I’m sorry that he did that to you” Sasuke said through his clenched jaw.

The thought of anyone mistreating Naruto put him on edge.

Sasuke now understood why Naruto had so many insecurities about his secondary gender; he’d thought that he had found someone he could trust, only to have them ripped away from him due to instincts.

“Eh, at this point it doesn’t matter anymore” Naruto lied.

Sasuke seemed to be content with Naruto’s explanation, so Naruto considered leaving out the rest, but he knew that he’d never muster up the courage to bring this up again.

It was now or never, and if he expected Sasuke to be honest with him, then he should be honest with Sasuke.

“The worst part was when I confronted him a second time” Naruto started.

He felt Sasuke’s muscles tense underneath him, but continued.

“He had invited me to one of his frat’s parties for that night, so I went to find him there. All of his frat buddies were celebrating with him on the side of the house because he’d found his mate and I just saw red. I blew up on him, yelled at him about how I fucked up my life for him and how I’d agreed to be his dirty little secret for almost three fucking years just to be dropped for an omega in heat” Naruto croaked out.

He felt the tears on his cheeks, but he didn’t even care at this point; the years of suppressed feelings just flowed out of his mouth uncontrollably.

“I was so pissed that I shoved him when he tried to deny it, just because he was in front of his meat head alpha friends. He just tried to save face and say that he was sorry if I read too much into our friendship, but that he wasn’t gay and would never be with another alpha” Naruto scoffed out.

He was disgusted with Kiba, still to this day. 

He wondered if he’d ever be able to fully heal, let alone forgive him.

“His friends stepped in when I shoved him, and they started to crowd me, shove me back, and were calling me a faggot and a freak” Naruto said weakly.

As angry as he was, his hurt outweighed his anger in spades.

Sasuke held back the urge to hunt Kiba and any of his former fraternity brothers down.

Sasuke recalled all of the times that Naruto had used the very same word whenever his true desires were revealed. Naruto had asked Sasuke on more than one occasion if he thought that Naruto was a freak.

Those horrible alpha’s word obviously still weighed heavily on Naruto’s mind.

“That was whatever, but then when I started to defend myself to get them to back off, they started throwing punches and kicking. I didn’t stand a chance against the six, maybe seven of them

Sasuke could not for the life of him relax his jaw and stop his eyebrow from twitching in irritation.

“They beat the shit out of me, and I can’t even remember if Kiba helped or not, but he damn sure didn’t stop them. They broke a few of my ribs and my jaw, but they just left me there” Naruto choked out.

At this point he was holding on to Sasuke for dear life.

Sasuke was so tense from trying to control his rage that he doubted he was offering very much comfort.

“I managed to call Karin, and she came and got me. My parents were so worried, but I wouldn’t let them take me to the hospital because I didn’t want any cops involved, so my mom had my godmother, Tsunade, come and take a look at me. She had to come checkup on me everyday for two months. Her and Karin were the only people that I ever told” Naruto sighed out. 

As painful as it was to have to really think about Kiba again, it was somewhat cathartic to have it out there and no longer a looming secret weighing on Naruto.

That was pretty much the only thing that he had left to reveal to ; the other alpha knew pretty much anything of significance about Naruto.

“You didn’t press any charges?” Sasuke grit out.

_How could Naruto not want to call the cops after being jumped by those ass holes?_

“No. Kiba’s dad was a cop and I figured he’d just get all of them out of it. I didn’t think it was worth anymore embarrassment. He’d just deny all of it again and I didn’t need anymore people looking at me like I was a freak for wanting to be with an alpha. I hadn’t even told my mom and dad about my relationship with Kiba, only Karin knew before I had to tell Tsunade” Naruto explained.

Sasuke sounded livid, and Naruto was concerned that it was directed at him for being too weak to call the police.

“You are not a freak, Naruto” Sasuke said through his clenched jaw.

Naruto tentatively lifted his head and looked up at Sasuke with tear rimmed and confused eyes.

“Stop using their words. You’re not a freak. You’re amazing” Sasuke said, thrown off kilter from the intimate eye contact.

He had so much more that he wanted to say to Naruto. He could have gone on and on about how he was gentle, unbelievably kind, supportive, beautiful, and quite literally the most genuine person that Sasuke had ever met.

He wanted to lay it on thick, put every romance novel to shame for Naruto’s sake, but he was scared.

He was so unbelievably scared.

So long as all of those thoughts just stayed thoughts, then he wouldn’t be so vulnerable. 

He hated how often Naruto had been emotionally supporting him, not wanting the alpha to view him as weak.

Sasuke knew that it was just his father’s antiquated thinking, but it had been ingrained so deeply into him from a young age, that he was still struggling to shake it off.

He was wracking his brain to find a way to show Naruto that he would support him just as much as the blonde had supported him.

Naruto just searched Sasuke’s face, but then his beautiful eyes softened and a genuine smile spread on his face.

He understood that Sasuke saying anything about how he felt about Naruto was a big step. 

Kiba had slewed prose about Naruto’s eyes and compared him to beautiful sunsets and shit, but it had obviously meant absolutely nothing.

Sasuke was here. Sasuke wasn’t ashamed of him, took him in public, didn’t give a shit about who knew about the two of them. Sasuke _protected_ him.

Sasuke’s simple words meant more to him than any other romantic declarations ever could.

Naruto just tucked his head back into Sasuke’s chest and nestled against him.

Sasuke held the other alpha tighter and continued running his hands up and down his arm.

He continued to comfort Naruto in the only way that his emotionally stunted brain could think of.

“Thank you” Sasuke said as he intentionally let off waves of his scent.

He was surprised when he felt a pleased mewl rumble in Naruto’s chest against his as he mumbled out a sleepy, “For what?”

“For telling me” Sasuke answered.

The fact that Naruto hadn’t told his parents meant that this was a big step in showing that he really did trust Sasuke.

Naruto just let out a sleepy hum as he burrowed in even closer to Sasuke, having moved his head so that his nose was tucked in right against his scent gland.

Sasuke was still angry, his inner alpha begging for him to do something to take away all of Naruto’s hurt, but that needed to wait until Naruto was peacefully resting.

Once the blonde’s breathing had evened out and he no longer actively clung to Sasuke, his arms just lying limp across him, Sasuke gently slid out from under Naruto. 

When the sleeping alpha did nothing but stir a little and let out a displeased grunt in his sleep, Sasuke grabbed his personal phone off of the nightstand and made his way to the balcony off of his bedroom.

He gripped the railing as he looked out at his view of the city and allowed the chill in the air to try and calm him down.

His inner alpha literally wouldn’t let his muscles relax, screaming for him to just do something to protect Naruto from absolutely everything, even if it was an unreasonable request.

He was just scanning his eyes across the lights of all of the buildings when he saw Sakura’s building in the distance; it was easy to spot due to its height.

He felt himself grimace as he thought back on the events of today, but by the end of it, he was smiling.

Naruto truly had been amazing.

Sasuke had always heard about omega mothers being unbelievably fierce when it came to their children, but he’d just never seen it.

His own mother was always too busy planning galas and fundraisers to be all that involved with him and his brother, and Sakura was- well, she was Sakura.

Sasuke didn’t think twice about Naruto telling Kiba that Sarada was his, didn’t bat an eye when Sarada had called Naruto her mom this morning. He didn’t even realize that he himself saw Naruto as Sarada and Ren’s mother until just now

He had told Naruto that they’d keep things casual, then less than a month later, they’re in a relationship and now they basically live together.

Sasuke couldn’t understand why he saw absolutely no issue with all of that; he was never like this before he’d met Naruto.

He’d never been in an actual relationship before Naruto, unless you could count Sakura, which he very much did not. 

The scary part was that he had a fairly good idea what the reason behind everything being so different with Naruto was, he just wasn’t ready to admit that to himself yet. That really was too soon.

He ran his hands over his face and sighed, taking his phone out of his pajama pants’ pocket.

He unlocked it just as Naruto stepped out onto the balcony through the opened door.

“You left” Naruto said in a confused tone.

He’d woken up after tossing and turning a little and not feeling Sasuke next to him.

With how vulnerable he felt, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep without his boyfriend next to him.

“Just needed to make a call” Sasuke reassured as he held up his unlocked phone.

Naruto came and wrapped his arms around Sasuke from behind and rested his chin on Sasuke’s shoulder.

“Who could you possibly need to call at-“ Naruto looked over at Sasuke’s phone to check the time, “one seventeen in the morning?” He finished.

“I know for a fact that Shisui is still at work” Sasuke answered as he pulled up his most recent call log.

“Sasuke, don’t” Naruto said.

It wasn’t threatening, but it was firm.

Naruto didn’t even tense up at the implications behind Sasuke’s words, no longer feeling the crushing weight of hearing about anything having to do with Kiba Inuzuka that he was used to.

“He doesn’t deserve to have his badge after what he did, or at the very least allowed, to happen to you” Sasuke grit out as he gripped his phone more forcefully.

Naruto separated himself from Sasuke and came to stand beside him.

Sasuke was still looking straight ahead, but Naruto’s eyes were locked onto Sasuke’s profile.

“I agree, but you can’t do that. I know that he Pakura have a kid, you can’t get him fired, Sasuke” Naruto said.

Sasuke just let out a huff that was somewhere between amazed and disbelief.

How could Naruto be worried about the well-being of that ass hole’s family?

_How can he be so forgiving?_

Sasuke honestly didn’t see how someone so pure existed and had chosen to be with him, someone that was so cynical and cold.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto to see if his expression held any traces of doubt, but when he found none, he was shocked.

The unguarded softness in Naruto’s eyes just caused a wave of emotions to rush over him, his inner alpha aching to be closer to him, to show him just how special he really is.

Before Sasuke could even think about how things were moving too fast and how much that scared him, he just blurted it out.

“I love you”.

Naruto’s eyes went wide and he let out a gasp that was barely audible. 

The blonde alpha even took a small step back as if Sasuke’s words had sucker punched him right in the gut.

Naruto’s eyes were moving a mile a minute as if Sasuke had managed to short circuit his brain, searching Sasuke’s face for any traces of deception, but Sasuke looked just as scared as Naruto did.

“You? You love me?” Naruto asked as if it were the most improbable thing in the world.

That was one of the only things that allowed Sasuke to swallow his pride and repeat himself; Naruto deserved to believe that he was capable of being loved.

“I do” Sasuke said with a nod.

Sasuke felt dread seeping into him when moments started to pass and all Naruto was doing was staring at him.

He found himself wondering if maybe he was being selfish in saying it, in even feeling it.

He’d never actually known what it felt like to love someone romantically before, but he didn’t know how else to describe his yearning for the blonde.

He couldn’t help but think that Naruto having a hard time believing him stemmed from his emotional short comings.

He wished that he was the type to hold his hand and wrap his arms around him any chance that he got, maybe then he’d feel loved like he deserved.

Even though Sasuke had just heard Naruto’s story, one that very much explained why he might have a hard time accepting the fact that someone loved him, he felt like it was all his fault. That he hadn’t done enough to fix all of that damage, and to be fair, he hadn’t.

He hadn’t pressed the reasoning behind Naruto’s obvious insecurities, thinking that he was just being respectful. It was a cop out and he knew it. It had only been because he hadn’t considered how Naruto was over how Sasuke, himself, was.

Sasuke preferred his emotions kept under lock and key, but as the blonde rapidly chipped away at that lock, he pressed that ideology onto Naruto in a way.

He had never pried in order to keep some level of distance between them to satiate his own, former, need for emotional isolation.

It made him feel like utter shit.

All of the progress that he thought he’d made just took a nose dive off of the balcony and landed in incoming traffic.

“I understand if you don’t return the feeling. I haven’t exactly been a great boyfriend” Sasuke said, insecurity lacing his voice.

He almost never called Naruto his boyfriend, even if that is exactly what he was, he was always just Naruto. To Sasuke, that meant more than a simple title that anyone could hold, but Naruto probably thought differently.

Naruto used every pet name in the book for the kids and always showered them with affection, but Sasuke couldn’t recall a single time that he’d so much as called Sasuke babe, baby, or any other variation. 

Naruto had never seen Sasuke more unsure of himself before.

He just didn’t want this to be Sasuke just throwing him a bone out of pity because his last relationship had turned out horribly.

“It’s not that, I just- you actually love me?” Naruto said, still bewildered.

After gathering his thoughts, he spoke up again and said, “You are a great boyfriend. You’ve never once been embarrassed about me, you’ve always made me feel safe in who I am, and you’ve let me live my dream for the past few months”.

Sasuke wanted to scoff at Naruto’s words.

To him, that felt like the bare minimum of what Naruto deserved.

But to Naruto it wasn’t.

To Naruto, it was everything.

Naruto didn’t need constant reassurance in the form of physical affection when he didn’t need to question someone’s feelings about him.

Naruto finally stepped forward, and with a shaky breath, he came in close to Sasuke and wrapped his arms around his neck.

He managed to gather up enough courage to look into Sasuke’s impossibly dark eyes when he said, “I love you, too”.

Sasuke felt as if the wind got knocked out of him as relief washed over him, but then Naruto’s lips were on his and all of his senses were flooded with the captivating alpha.

It started off gentle, much more gentle than they were used to, but neither alpha pressed for more than the languid movements of their lips.

Sasuke’s arm wrapped around Naruto’s waist as his hand came to rest on the small of his back, gently pulling Naruto closer to his chest.

When Sasuke brought his other hand up to the back of Naruto’s head, he tilted his own to deepen their kiss, Naruto parting his lips for Sasuke without hesitation.

With every stroke of their tongues, Sasuke felt his inner alpha preen, wanting nothing more than to keep Naruto as close and cherished as humanly possible.

When Naruto began to let out small whimpers into Sasuke’s mouth, Sasuke registered that they were both impossibly hard and sensually rutting against one another.

Sasuke pulled back when Naruto’s scent amplified tenfold, almost too much to bear while tasting him, and let out a primal groan.

“Take me, please” Naruto begged when he feared that Sasuke wanted to stop.

He knew that it was late, and that they’d probably regret passing up on sleep in the morning, but he craved _his_ alpha.

Sasuke looked at Naruto like he was crazy or something, because, duh.

Naruto never had to ask. Sasuke didn’t think there would ever be a time that he could resist the blonde.

But he didn’t want to ‘take him’.

He wanted to love him.

He would never say something as cliché as making love, but he was damn sure going to make Naruto feel loved.

Once the balcony door was shut and the bedroom door locked, Sasuke joined Naruto on his bed.

Sasuke gently pushed Naruto down onto the bed, trying to show him from the start that he didn’t want this to be like all of the other times that they’ve slept together.

He was sure to spend time kissing the daylights out of Naruto, making the blonde feel hypersensitive to every touch.

The buildup was both torturous and thrilling as Naruto clung to Sasuke and returned his passion.

When Sasuke moved to Naruto’s neck, being sure to leave marks that would fade away by morning, Naruto was a writhing mess beneath him, gasping and moaning at the gentlest scrapes of his teeth.

Sasuke reached Naruto’s scent gland, and lost himself in the saturated scent emitting from it, letting out a possessive growl as he lightly bit down on it.

Naruto’s body lurched upward into his as he gasped, Sasuke’s fully sleeved arm snaking under Naruto’s back to keep him arched up into his chest.

“Please, Sasuke” Naruto breathed out with hazy eyes as Sasuke continued to shower the sensitive gland with attention.

Naruto’s plea fell on deaf ears; Sasuke was too wrapped up in ensuring that Naruto’s scent was permanently ingrained into his senses.

By the time that he finally moved on, the taste of Naruto was on his tongue and said blonde was incapable of stringing together a coherent thought.

He felt so warm and his mind felt fuzzy, yet his nerve endings felt like they were on fire. 

Every light touch of Sasuke’s fingers or mouth felt like a perfect shock throughout his body.

He even cried out when Sasuke ran his tongue over his nipple as he left a trail of open mouthed kisses down the expanse of his chest.

As soon as Sasuke reached the waistband of Naruto’s pants, Naruto tried to hastily shove them off, but Sasuke forced him to slow his movements with one look from his feral eyes.

Naruto restrained himself, but he did snake his fingers into Sasuke’s hair, knowing just how much the alpha loved his hair to be played with.

Naruto’s head was spinning. He’d never had anyone spend so much time working him up without so much as a touch to his dick, and it was driving him mad.

He had no idea if he wanted this to continue forever or to have it stop the second that Sasuke actually touched him. He knew that he’d surely cum in no time when that happened.

Naruto was confused when Sasuke stopped him, but then let out a sigh of relief when he slowly pulled his pants off, leaving his boxer briefs in place.

After a chaste kiss to his hip, Sasuke was showing the same attention to his confined erection through the thin material of his underwear.

The friction from the fabric was almost too much to bear, but then Naruto would get just a teasing feel of Sasuke’s warm mouth through it as he sucked on the head.

Naruto’s fingers tightened in Sasuke’s hair when he looked down to see Sasuke watching him intently, his eyes wild but holding an unguarded adoration to them as well.

Naruto let out a whimper and threw his head back against the pillow, unable to keep up the eye contact as he felt pressure behind his eyes.

The way that Sasuke was looking at Naruto overwhelmed him. There was a hunger that went beyond lust in them that made Naruto feel so unbelievably cared for that he was beginning to feel the signs of tears.

Years of replaying cruel words in his mind led him believe that he wasn’t worthy of such treatment, but if someone as selective as Sasuke deemed him worthy, then he was damnit!

For the first time in his life he felt truly confident in who and what he was.

The spontaneous revelation was gone just as fast as it’d come thanks to Sasuke’s insanely talented mouth.

Naruto didn’t even feel his underwear being stripped off, only realizing that it was gone when his cock was in Sasuke’s mouth.

“God!” Naruto gasped when Sasuke’s cheeks hallowed to create just the right amount of pressure.

No matter how many time Naruto would get to experience the feeling of Sasuke’s mouth, he didn’t think he’d ever get used to it.

Naruto finally opened his eyes, always loving getting to see Sasuke so debauched as he went down on him.

As if Sasuke could feel Naruto’s eyes, his own flicked up and he grabbed Naruto’s hand where it had started fisting the blankets.

Sasuke entwined their fingers for a brief moment before placing Naruto’s hands back at the back of his head and raising his brow in indication.

Naruto just let out a sigh and threw his head back to the pillows, silently thanking whatever cosmic entity allowed for him to meet Sasuke.

Naruto eagerly lifted his hips, but quickly found that rough and desperate wouldn’t satisfy the both of them like it usually did.

Naruto missed the slow, precise friction from Sasuke’s previous pace, so he went back to that.

He slowly pushed his length further down Sasuke’s throat, his toes curling when he would bottom out and hold himself there so Sasuke could wrap his skillful tongue around him.

Because of the drawn out foreplay, Naruto was embarrassingly close to finishing already, and the way that Sasuke had started to moan around his cock had him taking in shuttering breaths.

He was letting out string of broken cries and moans, but when Sasuke held himself down at the base for longer than usual, he felt his cock give a telling twitch.

Naruto rushed to pull Sasuke off of him, not wanting to finish until his alpha was deep inside of him.

As if Sasuke was telepathic, he came up and desperately kissed Naruto, both of them still in need of catching their breath.

“You want me inside of you, babe?” Sasuke asked against Naruto’s lips in a gruff tone, his throat a little abused.

The pet name felt a little foreign on Sasuke’s tongue, but he thought it would be something that Naruto would enjoy being called.

It was possessive, but held more meaning than just calling someone alpha, or in Naruto’s case, omega.

Naruto let out a slight gasp at hearing Sasuke calling him that.

It was something so simple, but it made him feel like he was actually in a normal relationship. Knowing that Sasuke wasn’t the type for pet names just made it that much more significant.

“Please” Naruto whined out after another deep kiss.

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the blonde for just a few seconds, the amount of time that it took him to retrieve the lube, but he gave a displeased look at Naruto when he saw that the other alpha was in the midst of getting on all fours.

Sasuke went back down to the foot of the bed and expertly grabbed Naruto’s ankles and flipped him back over so that he was on his back again.

Naruto’s face flashed with a look of surprise, then confusion, but they were both quickly replaced with one of lust when Sasuke began trailing even more kisses along the sensitive skin of his inner thighs.

Naruto wasn’t used to such soft treatment from anyone, but especially not Sasuke.

It’s not that he minded; the sex was always fantastic, and it wasn’t impersonal, so Naruto never once wished for anything different.

But this, this he liked.

He liked it way more than he would have ever expected.

The teasing touches were making him so sensitive to even the slightest of movements.

Naruto was propped up on his elbows, marveling at the open display of adoration from Sasuke.

It was making him feel so warm and dazed that even though he felt as if he were watching Sasuke’s every move, he was caught off guard when Sasuke brought a slicked up finger to his hole.

Now that Naruto had been going to bed with Sasuke every night, their prep wasn’t as time consuming, something that Naruto was thankful for at the moment.

The second that he felt Sasuke’s finger push into him, he dropped his head back, his elbows still supporting him.

“Oh fuck” Naruto breathed out.

He never thought that one finger could possibly feel so good.

Sasuke focused on going slow as to drag out the immense pleasure Naruto was clearly feeling, purposely avoiding his prostate for the time being.

The blonde alpha appeared to be hypersensitive, and Sasuke didn’t want to overdo it too quickly.

Sasuke committed every gasp and moan to memory as he slowly stretched the beautiful man in front of him, waiting until he was up to three fingers before allowing himself to strike Naruto’s prostate.

Naruto’s elbows were no longer capable of supporting him when Sasuke’s fingers came into contact with the sensitive bundle of nerves.

His upper body gracefully slid down to the mattress as he cried out.

“Sasuke! No more, please! I-I need you inside me, please” Naruto babbled out as Sasuke massaged that spot.

Sasuke slowly removed his fingers and slid off his pajama pants, glad that he had opted to go camando tonight.

He made sure that his painfully hard cock was well lubed and used one hand to support his weight when he was once again face to face with Naruto, as he sprawled out below Sasuke.

Sasuke admired the lovely flush that always spread out across his whiskered cheeks when they would have sex, dipping his head down to kiss Naruto once more.

He held his aching cock at the already swollen base in one hand as he carefully lined himself up with Naruto’s entrance, his tongue deeply entwined with Naruto’s.

Sasuke slowly pressed himself inside, groaning against Naruto’s lips at how beautifully Naruto took him.

Going slower allowed him to really savor each moment that he was wrapped more and more in blissful, tight heat.

Naruto clawed at Sasuke’s shoulders to avoid screaming out at finally being stretched around him, not able to stop his choked off sob.

When Sasuke was finally as deep inside of Naruto as his forming knot would allow, he held himself as deep as possible as he molded his chest to Naruto’s.

Sasuke pulled his hips back as much as he could while staying as close to Naruto as possible, starting off with slow, shallow thrusts.

The friction was almost too good, so Sasuke pulled away from their kiss and tucked his head into the crook of Naruto’s neck, inhaling nothing but his intoxicating scent.

Naruto’s steady stream of soft moans turned into full blown cries of pleasure when Sasuke’s thrusts got longer and deeper, hitting his prostate with each precise stroke.

Sasuke didn’t even find himself missing the usual pleas and dirty talk, which was surprising.

He loved seeing someone as wholesome as Naruto turn into such a slut at his hands, but he couldn’t say that he missed it all that much right now.

There was something fragile, yet beautiful about the intense atmosphere between the two of them.

“You’re mine” Sasuke growled out, punctuating his statement with a hard thrust of his hips.

When Naruto let out an approving whine and held Sasuke even closer, he knew that his alpha would never be able to let go of Naruto.

“I love you” Sasuke panted out, his thrusts continuing to get harder and harder while he maintained his slow pace.

Naruto gasped and arched up into Sasuke’s chest. With the way that his muscles spasmed around Sasuke, Sasuke almost thought that he came, but then Naruto was pulling him back in for a bruising kiss.

“Tell me again” Naruto breathed out against Sasuke’s lips.

Sasuke pulled back so that he could look Naruto right in his eyes as he said, “I love you, Naruto”.

Naruto let out a drawn out moan, as if Sasuke telling him that he loved him was as good a turn on as actually touching his dick, making his inner alpha swell with pride.

“I love you, too” Naruto choked out between ragged breaths.

Naruto was impossibly tight around Sasuke as the blonde continued to sob out in pleasure.

”So fucking much!” Naruto cried out after a particularly hard thrust.

They were both close, Sasuke finally having gone faster, but mindful of not being rough.

Sasuke caught Naruto running his tongue over his canines, something that he was very familiar with as of late, needing to soothe the aching in them.

“Do it” Sasuke grunted out as he lowered himself to give Naruto access to his neck.

When Naruto only let out another gasp, Sasuke grew frenzied, suddenly craving the feeling of being as close to Naruto as possible.

“Please, Naruto. I’m so close. I need to knot, fill you so full. You’re mine! I need you to be mine, plea- FUCK!” Sasuke shouted with a guttural moan as he felt Naruto’s teeth sink into his scent gland, forcing him to give one final stroke, locking them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, a lot happened here today, and I hope that you guys enjoyed reading it!
> 
> Now we will be moving on to plot, smut, fluff, more plot, and even more smut! I hope you guys are still down for the ride, because idk where we’re headed, but I’m looking forward to it(((:
> 
> I just kind of went on a writing bender and this turned out a little more fucked up than I planned, but fear not, our sweet Naru is in good hands now.
> 
> The last bit was totally a last minute, kind of self indulgent add on, so let me know what you thought about it!(:
> 
> I’d love to hear your guys’ predictions for upcoming chapters and to know what your reactions were to finally finding out what Kiba did(:
> 
> As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read, this shit show will be continuing shortly!<3


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pinch of marking after math.  
> A dash of domestic fluff.  
> A metric shit ton of stress for everyone involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the thank yous to Freakontour and Meehalla for giving this chapter a look through, pointing out errors (we’ve all learned that I can’t spell for shit), and for giving me feedback!  
> I love you guys!<3
> 
> I hope you guys are ready for a long ass chapter!

“Can you believe that shit? He really thought that I wouldn’t say something to him just because I’m an omega” Karin scoffed out as she poured herself another glass of wine.

It may only be a little after noon on a Sunday, but in her defense, it was white wine.

Naruto had just shown up at her door, needing to talk to his sister about the rollercoaster of emotions that he’d gone through yesterday.

This morning Naruto and Sasuke had been woken up out of a dead sleep, panicking when they heard a loud clatter from the kitchen.

Much like when Yakeru and Sarada had gone off to play a one sided game of hide and seek, Sasuke was up in an instant.

He put Naruto’s sweats on in a hurry since they were within reach and hurried to the door.

It was still locked from last night, so he was worried that Sarada was in the kitchen trying to get some of her snacks and dropped something on herself.

When he’d stumbled out of the door after fumbling with the lock, it was only to see Haku at the stove top.

Naruto rushed out right after Sasuke, almost barreling into his strong back from being occupied with trying to secure the tie on the joggers he had slipped on.

“Are they gone again?” Naruto breathed out as he was still trying to fully wake up.

“No, they’re sleeping in Sarada’s room. Sorry about that. I was trying to grab a pan and dropped some of them” Haku said as he picked up the pots and pans that he’d knocked down from the rack they usually hung on.

Naruto and Sasuke let out sighs of relief, their brains still catching up with them, not yet remembering the events of last night.

“I didn’t mean to wa- Well my, my. Looks like someone had a good night” Haku said, finishing his sentence with a mirthful smirk and a teasing tone.

Sasuke took a few seconds to guess what the hell Haku was talking about. He and Naruto always came out of the same room, it’s not like it was some secret that they had sex. 

_Were we too loud or someth-_

Sasuke cut his own thoughts off as he slapped his hand up against his scent gland once he registered that it was tender.

He winced at how sensitive it was, but the definition of the slightly raised bite mark was unmistakeable.

He’d told Naruto that he loved him. He had asked Naruto to mark him, and Naruto had actually done it.

Apparently they’d both blacked out from the intensity of the marking and just stayed asleep.

Sasuke’s head felt foggy, but in the midst of all of that, his mind was locked onto Naruto with a startling clarity.

He was fucking bonded to the goof.

Naruto just let out a nervous chuckle, not really knowing what else to do.

He kind of felt embarrassed that he didn’t hold a mark as well to make it a complete bond, but it didn’t bother him as much as he would’ve thought.

Sasuke had been married to Sakura for years, but never let her mark him, and last night the stubborn man had begged to hold Naruto’s mark.

Naruto felt a warm buzzing of pride throughout his body.

Haku had come over and given Naruto a hug first, out of respect for his and Sasuke’s bond, and looked genuinely happy when he said congratulations.

He also gave Sasuke a loving squeeze, but when he pulled back, his smile was still in place, but his eyes held a sadness that he was all too familiar with.

“He’d be happy for you” Haku said with a solemn smile.

It’d meant the world to Sasuke. Naruto could not only see that, but he felt it, too.

He’d never been bonded with anyone, and it was shocking just how true all of the stories he’d heard about it were turning out to be.

He felt so in tune and connected with all of Sasuke’s movements and feelings, even the most minute ones. 

He had absolutely no regrets.

Naruto and Sasuke had talked about it after breakfast, both assuring one another that they were happy with their decision.

Naruto felt so content, more so than he’d ever thought possible.

They agreed to tell Sarada, knowing that the freakishly perceptive four year old would find out sooner rather than later on her own anyway.

Naruto had been so worried that she wouldn’t be happy about it, that he and Sasuke were moving too fast for her to be comfortable with, but of course he’d been wrong.

She was eating her toast when Sasuke struggled to use layman’s terms to explain the situation to her.

Naruto was incredibly amused as Sasuke struggled to find the right words to get Sarada to understand what marking was.

“When two grown ups love each other, they give each other matching bites right here” Sasuke had explained as he pulled down the collar of his t-shirt to expose his fresh mark.

He didn’t know exactly why it was healing so rapidly, but he knew that it was a good sign

If two people were really not compatible with one another, then their bodies could potentially reject their bond. Sasuke having bonded with another alpha obviously made him concerned about a possible rejection simply due to biology, but Sasuke felt fine.

He felt better than fine; he felt so deeply secure and tied to Naruto that all of his previous worries had dissipated. His nose just zeroed in on Naruto’s gentle, yet incredible scent any time he was near it. It was fucking fantastic.

“This makes it so they always want to be with each other” Sasuke had said as he gauged Sarada’s reaction to see if she needed further explanation.

Naruto’s heart jumped with affection when Sarada smiled so wide that her eyes were forced shut.

“So does that mean we get to keep Naru?” She asked excitedly.

Naruto let out a boisterous laugh while Sasuke let out a much more reserved chuckle at the fact that Sarada was talking about Naruto as if he were some stray puppy.

“I guess so” Sasuke answered with a fond smirk directed at Naruto as Sarada jumped into said blonde’s lap for a hug.

Now that Naruto had seen that kind of a reaction, he wanted to tell everyone. To just go around with a sign that read, ‘The Most Incredible Alpha Alive Holds My Mark (Suck It, Sakura)’ but he’d settle for only his sister at the moment.

She’s one of the most important people in his life, and he’d been so wrapped up in everything Sasuke, that he hasn’t had much of a chance to see her outside of work.

He was really trying to listen to her story about the jerk she’d gone out on a blind date with last night, not wanting to be a total dick, but he was practically bursting at the seams.

He’d been antsy since he sat down on her couch.

“Hello? Earth to Nar-“ she started to try and get his attention while waving her hand in front of his face, but he suddenly burst.

“I saw Kiba yesterday!” He rushed out.

She looked at him in shock before slowly setting her wine glass down on to the surface of the coffee table next to Naruto’s still full one.

“You saw Kiba?” She asked in disbelief.

It was weird enough for her to even hear her brother saying his name, but what was weirder was that he didn’t look like he was the slightest bit upset about it.

“Yeah. Sarada and Ren had their visit with Sakura yesterday, but Sakura wasn’t watching her and she got out. She went to the police station since I guess Sasuke’s cousin, Shisui, runs it, and she’d gone up to Kiba since he’s a cop now, apparently. Anyway, Shisui couldn’t stay, so Kiba had to watch her until we got there and I saw him” Naruto rushed out.

Karin’s brain was trying its best to keep up with the rapid pace of her brother’s words, but like, where to start?

“How the hell did Sarada even get out? Is she okay?” She asked, clearly worried.

Sarada had a way of being every teacher’s favorite, even if they rarely watched over her class at daycare. Karin was not an exception.

“Wait, the city actually gave that piece of shit a badge? Are _you_ okay?” She added on before Naruto could so much as get a word in.

“I’m fine. Kiba is whatever. He tried apologizing, but then Sasuke told him to fuck off” Naruto said dismissively with a wave of his hand, trying to literally shoo away the subject.

“I t-“ was all Naruto could get out before Karin interrupted him.

“Hold on, wait. You see He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Fucking-Named after spending years dealing with what he did, and now he is just ‘whatever’?” Karin asked, using an obnoxiously mocking tone when repeating what Naruto had just said.

Two months ago her brother would have cowered at the slightest mention of Kiba, and now it was just a nonissue all of a sudden?

“Yeah, whatever. I kind of went all alpha on him at first, but it doesn’t matter” Naruto explained as he visibly geared up to tell her more.

“Sasuke asked what my issue with Kiba was, so I told him. _Everything_ “ Naruto said with a pointed look.

He knew that Karin was aware of his sensitivity regarding the whole Kiba thing, so it wasn’t something that he told just anyone. Hell, he hadn’t even told their parents.

“And?” She said impatiently.

She couldn’t tell which direction this was heading in.

“He was really pissed off, even tried calling his cousin to have Kiba fired, which I stopped, but he was great. He made me feel like everything was okay, and that it didn’t matter anymore” Naruto said like a love sick school girl.

Karin had to hold back from gagging at the sight, but she had to admit, Naruto really did seem like none of what Kiba had done bothered him anymore.

She had a hard time picturing Sasuke as the caring and comforting type, but he’d obviously done something right.

The difference in Naruto was night and day, like a switch had just been flipped and he was suddenly over all of the trauma.

Clearly, she was happy for him, but she couldn’t help still being a little skeptical of Sasuke. The only times she’d talked to him were when Naruto was avoiding the guy after Sakura barged in on them.

Naruto showing up at her house late at night, crying because of him did not exactly make the best first impression.

Karin was impressed though, the guy managed to ‘fix’ Naruto after years of her trying to do the same thing.

She nodded as she reached for her wine glass, processing all of the information that Naruto just dumped on her.

“So we don’t hate Kiba anymore?” She asked, still somewhat confused.

“No, we do. Fuck that guy” Naruto said as he snatched Karin’s wine glass and set it back down.

His sister just looked at him like he was crazy, but to be fair, he was weirdly energetic at the moment, even for Naruto.

“Sasuke told me that he loves me” Naruto finally said with an ear splitting grin.

Karin put her general wariness of Sasuke to the side for the sake of her brother.

He was so giddy, that she didn’t have the heart to be her cynical self. 

He was so happy, and he deserved to be. 

There was nothing more that she could do but support him and be happy for him.

She’d always be there to help him pick up the pieces if something did go wrong, but for once Naruto seemed truly hopeful about things working out for himself.

She couldn’t take that away from him.

“And do we love him back?” She asked.

Naruto’s response was in the form of a jerky nod.

He knew how his sister felt about Sasuke, but he needed to tell someone, and he yearned for her to be happy for him like Haku was for Sasuke.

“Well, alright then. If you love him and he can get you through the shit storm Kiba caused, I’m happy for you, little brother” Karin said fondly as she pulled Naruto in for a hug.

Naruto closed his eyes in relief and allowed himself to imagine that he was hugging his mom again.

Karin looked like their mom and her scent was similar, so it brought him a much needed presence of love and support.

After a few moments passed, Naruto realized that this picture perfect scenario wouldn’t be lasting for much longer.

As much as Karin looked like their mom, she acted like her just as much.

He didn’t want to set off Karin, but there was only so much he could expect of his short tempered sister.

_Best to just rip it off like a Band-Aid._

He let out a sigh, knowing that he’d be getting an earful for being so reckless, but fuck it.

“Also we’re mated” Naruto rushed out so quickly that the phrase sounded like one word.

“YOU’RE FUCKING WHAT!?” Karin shouted as she pulled back from their hug.

Naruto could swear that Kushina Uzumaki had risen from the grave and was in front of him, ready to reprimand him.

He gulped and prepared himself for the scolding of a lifetime.

-

“Hey daddy!” Sarada said as she bounded up to Sasuke as he cleared the table from dinner.

When she reached him, he had an amused smirk on his face at her adorable antics, but it quickly disappeared when she quacked at him like a duck.

He didn’t even have to take a guess as to why she did it.

His head snapped over to where Karin and Haku were failing miserably to hide their laughter in the living room with Ren and Yakeru. He shot her one of his signature glares as Naruto just laughed his happy ass off at the kitchen sink.

The woman had been giving him shit about his hair all night, even to the point of him tying it up.

Before Naruto had gone to Karin’s this afternoon, Sasuke said that Naruto should invite her over at some point. He just hadn’t expected for ‘some point’ to be two hours later.

It’d meant the absolute world to Naruto that Sasuke was willing to burry the hatchet and give meeting Karin a second chance. Sasuke didn’t have the heart to disagree.

Naruto had been planning on something a little less sudden, but Karin was adamant about properly meeting Sasuke now that she knew Naruto had mated him.

The kids were a fantastic buffer, swooping in with a distraction nonstop, and it allowed for the unavoidable awkwardness to gradually fade away gracefully.

Sasuke wasn’t having the worst time of his life.

He couldn’t deny that it wasn’t all that bad having Karin around, after all.

They both put their general dislike for the other to the side for Naruto’s sake, and they found out that they actually weren’t all that different.

Karin was much more ‘in your face’ in comparison to Sasuke, but they were both cynical, enjoyed dark humor, and were kind of ass holes, so Sasuke didn’t see her as the worst person to maybe someday have as his sister-in-law.

They did bicker a lot, though.

Naruto found it to be incredibly entertaining, seeing as how Karin might’ve finally met her match.

He knew both Sasuke and his sister well enough to know that there was no real intent behind their words, _so far_.

They still needed to put the kids to sleep, and after that is when things would really be put to the test.

All of the children were bathed and ready for bed, but after the merciless teasing about his hair, his clothes, and ‘pretty boy looks’, he was not looking forward to seeing Karin without her ‘little kid filter’.

“Alright! Bedtime, rugrats!” Naruto said as he finished loading up the dishwasher.

Sarada and Yakeru gave him harmonized groans to show that they were displeased, but they didn’t protest any further.

“If Ru wakes up tonight, can he come in my room again?” Sarada asked Haku with a devastatingly cute pout.

Thankfully the kids had taken to asking if they could sleep in the same room beforehand, as to not freak out the adults again, but it caused a pang in Naruto’s chest.

He’d gotten so used to waking up with Sarada cuddled up against him, and it felt so stupid, considering he’s only gotten to spend time with her outside of school for a short amount of time, but he felt like she was growing up.

He felt like he was loosing his little girl, even if she wasn’t his, not technically anyway.

“Of course, love” Haku answered with a fond smile as he lead Yakeru to the stairs.

Haku and Yakeru called out their goodnights to everybody and then headed upstairs to their room.

Sasuke grabbed Sarada’s hand, seeing as how she was still standing next to him, as Karin stood up and handed Ren over to Naruto.

“I want Kari to read me my stories!” Sarada said excitedly as she looked over to her second favorite daycare teacher.

Sasuke was about to tell her that ‘Kari’ was trying to relax, but then Karin playfully swatted his hand away from Sarada’s.

“You heard the kid” she said with a smug smirk as she allowed Sarada to drag her up the stairs.

Naruto leaned down to give her a kiss on the top of her head before they got past him, and he looked as if everything in was right in the world, even if it very much was not.

Sasuke almost let out a pleased rumble from his chest at how happy Naruto looked, but balked when he realized what’d just happened.

All Sasuke got before they were gone was a measly, rushed, “Night, Daddy!” from Sarada.

_The little traitor!_

Naruto read the disgruntled look on Sasuke’s face so easily that it might as well have been one of Ren’s books.

“You know you’re her favorite” Naruto chuckled out as he gave Sasuke a pity kiss on the lips.

“In what world? She’d sell me if it meant that she got to keep her precious ‘Naru’” Sasuke said with a fond roll of his eyes.

“Yeah, you’re right” Naruto said with a smirk disturbingly similar to Karin’s.

“At least she likes you more than she likes Sakura” Naruto teased as he lightly bounced Ren, who was currently gnawing on Naruto’s finger.

Sasuke let out what could only be described as a snort.

_Yeah, no shit._

He shook his head fondly and gave Naruto another kiss, making it last a little bit longer this time before the blonde started heading upstairs.

Sasuke just busied himself by finishing up clearing the placemats and wiping down Ren’s high chair while Karin and Naruto put the children to bed.

As he cleaned, he couldn’t help but think about how different his life was now.

It felt like in just one day, his kids went from only having him, to having an actual mother, an aunt, an uncle, _and_ a cousin.

It was wild how rapidly his world was changing, but he couldn’t say that he minded anymore.

It’d been less than twenty-four hours, and Sasuke already felt a drastic change within himself from holding Naruto’s mark.

Anytime he got anxious about his feelings for the other alpha, or anything else, he would feel warmth and comfort spread throughout his body and he could smell Naruto’s scent as it slowly mixed with his.

Naruto didn’t even have to be by his side to put Sasuke at ease anymore, even if they both preferred him to be.

After finishing up the cleaning, Sasuke poured himself a drink, Karin was still in his house after all, and sat down in his favorite chair in the living room.

To his dread, Karin came downstairs first, though he should have expected it.

Ren was teething and had been giving them a hard time at bedtime lately.

Karin scanned the room and actually looked happy that her brother wasn’t joining them at the moment.

She plopped herself down on the coffee table in front of Sasuke and plucked his glass from his hand.

She took a sip and grimaced before just shooting it, not caring that it’d come from a three hundred dollar bottle and meant to be sipped.

Sasuke just clenched his jaw and tried to swallow his irritation. 

He had a feeling that she was just testing him to see if she could get a rise out of him.

He was a business man and refused to be beat at his own game, though he did feel more inclined to snap at her since they were in _his_ house.

“Why Naruto?” Karin asked casually.

“Come again?” Sasuke said with a raised brow.

He’d fully expected the whole ‘Break his heart and I break your neck’ rigamarole, but this was an odd start.

“Why Naruto?” She repeated, more slowly this time, as she twirled the empty glass in her hand.

“What kind of a question is that? You know him. Why not Naruto?” Sasuke shot back.

Something flashed in Karin’s eyes at hearing that, something that Sasuke knew well.

It was the promise of a challenge.

He couldn’t help but think that she’d make one hell of a business woman, but he was better.

There was no way he’d fail her little test.

_Hopefully._

“I just want to know if you’re serious about him. He’s my little brother, and hasn’t been treated well by the world. So c’mon, tell me about how his eyes are bluer than the sky or how his smile lights up a room” she said with a flourish of her hand.

The way that she was talking made it seem like she didn’t have a care in the world about his answer, but Sasuke knew that it was just a tactic.

She had one hell of a poker face, but Sasuke did not appreciate having his feelings questioned. Only his own anxiety was allowed to do that.

“He is kind just for the sake of being kind. He is passionate about everything that he does. He never turns his back on anyone. He loves my children like they’re his own. Why wouldn’t I love him?” Sasuke said firmly as he stared Karin right in the eyes, challenging her to find any trace of deception.

He hadn’t even needed to think about listing off only a fraction of the reasons why he’d want to be with Naruto to someone that he didn’t know, because his mark was doing that thing again.

Naruto might as well have been sitting right next to him and telling him that it is okay to have feelings, that it doesn’t make him weak.

He felt more powerful now than he ever did when he used to think he was being strong.

Before now, he’d just been his father’s definition of strong.

“And since you mentioned it, he is pretty easy on the eyes” Sasuke said with a smirk.

He knew he’d won the second that Karin kept quiet.

The omega gave him an appraising look, like she was still figuring out her final judgment.

She handed him his glass back as she said, “You pass” with an air of finality.

Karin might’ve not been the fondest of Sasuke up until this point, but he didn’t go for the superficial answer that would have been easy to come up with.

His answer came from actually paying attention to Naruto and appreciating him as a person.

She was willing to set aside her pride and admit that the guy might not actually be so terrible.

“Didn’t know that I was being tested” Sasuke said, his guard still up.

“Yes you did” she said, her eyes still at a stalemate with his.

They both slowly folded, a smile creeping onto Karin’s face as Sasuke nodded, confirming her assumption.

“Whatever that was, was awful” she said as she pointed to his empty glass. “Got any tequila?” She asked, suddenly back to her normal, crass self.

Sasuke would be lying if he said that the sudden change in her personality wasn’t somewhat concerning, she was almost as good as him at turning on and off the charm, but he was glad to be off of her bad side.

Sasuke let out a chuckle, because his beloved scotch was anything but awful, and lead her to his liquor stash, allowing her to pick something that better suited her taste.

After rummaging through what she deemed to be his ‘pretentious bottles’ she found one that she was happy with, pouring herself more than Sasuke would’ve into the glass that he’d retrieved for her.

She let out a sigh as she continued staring at the intricately lined bottles.

Sasuke raised a perfectly arched brow when she finally turned to him, actually looking worried.

“Take care of him, yeah?” She said, nothing but genuine concern in her tone.

“I intend to” Sasuke replied sincerely.

Karin didn’t know what compelled her to do it, seeing as how she was not the affectionate type, but she wrapped her arms around Sasuke’s waist.

There was no way to sugar coat it; it was awkward.

Sasuke was caught off guard and wasn’t used to hugging.

Karin didn’t seem to mind though, as she hugged him tighter and whispered a shaky “Thank you” into his chest.

To Sasuke’s horror, it almost sounded like she was about to cry. He had no idea how to deal with people crying.

She was just so happy that her brother finally had what he’d always wanted.

Guilt weighed heavily on her because she was an omega and capable of having children, but that was something she’d never wanted. 

Naruto would’ve killed to be her shoes, but she did nothing with the ‘gifts’ he so badly wanted.

She knew that Naruto would never be mad at her for it and that it didn’t really make sense, but it was how she felt.

Now that Naruto had Sasuke, Sarada, and Ren, she didn’t feel so responsible for ensuring his happiness.

When Karin didn’t let up, Sasuke figured that he should probably reciprocate the hug.

_That’s what people do, right? Just hug back whenever someone hugs them?_

His arms were stiff and he brought his hand to her back in a forced ‘there there’ motion that made him look socially inept. But hey, it was something.

Of course that would be the moment that Naruto chose to come downstairs.

He almost didn’t believe his eyes.

Two of the most physically unaffectionate people that he’d ever met, who also happened to be the most important people he’d ever met, were actually hugging?

Naruto had a hard time holding in his laugh at how uncomfortable Sasuke clearly was with what was happening.

He figured he’d put the bastard out of his misery.

“Wait, what? Are we one big, happy family now!?” Naruto asked sarcastically as he wedged himself between the two and put one arm over their shoulders.

Karin just let out an unconvincing scoff as she rolled her eyes and gave Naruto a playful shove.

“Yeah right” she said with a poorly concealed tinge of fondness.

Naruto didn’t think that anything could possibly go wrong.

-

Yeah, so that’d been wishful thinking.

Turns out, a lot of things could go very wrong.

Fugaku hadn’t been lying when he said that he could still fuck with Sasuke’s company.

In just a few days time, he’d managed to sell off a majority of his patents and cause some serious waves in Sasuke’s partnerships.

Naruto had barely seen his alpha since Sunday dinner. It was now Thursday.

Sasuke had to go into work early and come home late just to try and keep up with putting out the fires his father kept starting.

Sasuke would never allow it to show or admit it, but Naruto knew that he was absolutely exhausted.

Naruto felt so helpless.

There was nothing that he could do. He didn’t know shit about Sasuke’s sector of business and he hadn’t seen the other alpha for long enough to really try and comfort him.

Naruto tried to wait up for him every night, but he’d always end up falling asleep at some point.

He’d been waking up to an empty bed recently, the only proof of Sasuke having actually come home being the fact that his side of the bed was unmade and drenched in his scent.

It sucked. It sucked a lot.

Yesterday Naruto went to Sasuke’s office with lunch from his favorite sushi place, but Sasuke had been in the middle of a call with his biggest supplier and it didn’t sound great.

Naruto had been ready to just accept defeat on his mission, but before he could leave Sasuke’s office, Sasuke muted his phone while the man on the other end spoke and pulled Naruto in for a quick and much needed kiss.

“I love you” Sasuke said with soft eyes.

Naruto refrained from letting out a pleased mewl, but before he could say it back, Sasuke was back on the call, speaking in Japanese.

Due to Sasuke’s new hours, Naruto was on baby duty, and he fucking loved it.

Sure, it was chaotic and tiring, but Naruto never wanted it to end.

He obviously wanted Sasuke home before two in the morning again, but the feeling that he got from actually getting to be a mother was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

Haku helped when he could, but Naruto was pretty much on his own. He had fallen in love with his new relationship with Ren.

Naruto was usually the one handling Sarada, seeing as how she could actually voice that she wanted him to be the one to put her to bed, which left Sasuke to tend to Ren.

Not having the option to divide and conquer was allowing Naruto to get closer to Ren, and who doesn’t love baby cuddles!?

As comfortable as Naruto had gotten in his and Sasuke’s new life, he still wasn’t comfortable enough to voice that he wanted to be the one that handled the kids most of the time. He felt that it was something that Sasuke needed to bring up first.

He didn’t want to seem like he was forcing himself into a role that Sasuke may not be all that comfortable with.

Communication between them had improved drastically, not that it could’ve gotten any worse, but it wasn’t like they actually had time to talk about any of the things on Naruto’s mind.

Not only was Sasuke constantly busy at work, but his mother finally was available to get ‘lunch’ with him. 

Sasuke had a lot on his plate, and Naruto didn’t want to add anymore to it just because he was feeling overly emotional.

Logically, he knew that it was just because of their incomplete bond, but it was something that’d just have to wait to be addressed.

Naruto wanted all of the clichés for when he was marked, wanted it to be special.

That wasn’t exactly in the cards right now, seeing as how Naruto didn’t want to stress his alpha out anymore than everything already was.

He could deal with the headache and general fatigue that came from an incomplete bond, because at the end of the day, he was doing what he needed to do to take care of _his_ alpha.

It was worth it.

Naruto was brought back to reality when his phone started vibrating in his pocket.

He took it out and smiled as soon as he read the name displayed on the screen.

“Has Haku picked up Yakeru, yet? He didn’t answer his phone” Sasuke rushed out.

Naruto ignored the lack of greeting and focused on the tense tone in his alpha’s voice.

Naruto knew that for any traces of concern to actually shine through, Sasuke had to be shitting bricks.

“Karin texted me like three minutes ago and said that they just left. He’s probably still buckling up Yakeru” Naruto said in his most reassuring tone.

He didn’t know what else he could do.

It’s not like he could do anything more than he already was.

Naruto hated feeling helpless when it came to Sasuke.

It’s not like he had all that long to enjoy the honeymoon phase before their life turned into a soap opera.

Naruto felt himself relax when Sasuke let out a sigh of relief.

“You okay?” Naruto asked.

It wasn’t necessary to ask, because who the hell would be okay in this situation? 

But he needed for Sasuke to know that he cared about how _he_ was doing in the midst of everything.

“Yeah, I only have an hour before my next set of conference calls though, so I have to figure out a way to get my mother to turn on her husband in less than fifty minutes” Sasuke said sardonically.

Naruto just let out a chuckle at Sasuke’s downplaying of all of this.

“If anyone can, it’d be you. You got Karin to like you, so I think you can handle it” Naruto said as he wedged his phone between his ear and shoulder and took hold of Ren’s stroller again.

“Yeah” Sasuke said with an amused huff as Naruto heard him closing his car door.

“How’d Ren’s appointment go?” Sasuke asked, suddenly sounding like he used to before the storm started raging.

Naruto had taken the morning off to take Ren to his twelve month checkup, but Sarada had managed to rope herself into tagging along.

She even dropped a “Pretty please, Naru?” on him when she asked if they could walk down to get ice cream after.

She knew just what buttons to push.

“It was good, growing right on track! One of the assistants tried to have him come back with either you or Sakura for his shots though, but Sarada had my back” Naruto said proudly as she beamed up him.

When the rather unpleasant beta had told him that they needed a guardian’s signature, Sarada had stepped in to say that Naruto was their ‘garden’.

It was the cutest damned thing he’d ever seen, but he could tell that the beta had thought differently.

He knew that she probably agreed to just avoid a tantrum from Sarada, but she agreed to allow Naruto to sign so long as Sasuke came in to update Ren’s file with them and list Naruto on all of his forms.

He heard a light hearted chuckle from the phone that put his aching chest at ease.

No matter how brief these types of conversations may have been as of late, they always seemed to bring Sasuke back from the edge of losing his shit.

“Who cried more? You or Ren?” Sasuke asked. Naruto could hear the smirk in his voice.

“Shut up” Naruto said in a good natured tone. Ren had definitely cried more, but Naruto had been the one more upset by the whole ordeal.

Why wouldn’t he be? That mean witch poked his baby with a needle! Three times!

“I’m glad you had your muscle there for back up” Sasuke teased.

“Hey! I don’t need anymore muscle, thank you very much” Naruto said as they continued their walk down the sidewalk.

“Oh, I’m well aware” Sasuke said, his voice doing that thing where it gets all raspy just to rile Naruto up.

Even going only a few days with out any significant physical contact was killing them.

Literally.

Naruto felt like he might die if he didn’t get dick in the next few hours, but now with Sasuke’s teasing, he was looking at minutes.

“Stop that” Naruto whined out like a little kid.

He’d be mortified if he got worked up in public and started letting off his scent, and with how little action he was getting, it wouldn’t take much.

“You’re no fun” Sasuke teased dryly.

Naruto knew that Sasuke was just trying to distract himself from his meeting with his mother, but Naruto knew that it would be best for him to have some time to think about it with a clear head.

“You read plane manuals for fun. Don’t talk to me about fun” Naruto said in a fond tone.

They’d just reached the ice cream shop, and as soon as Naruto reached the door, Sarada bolted into the brightly colored establishment as Naruto kept watch through the window.

Another deep chuckle was heard from Sasuke.

“We just got to the ice cream shop, so I’m gonna go make sure she doesn’t go get ten scoops” Naruto said as he watched Sarada sample three flavors at once.

“Don’t worry too much, alright? Just go do what you do best and let me know how it goes” Naruto said when all Sasuke did was laugh again.

“Yeah, alright. I will” Sasuke said before hesitating.

“Thank you, babe. I love you” Sasuke finished.

Naruto smiled like an idiot.

He knew that Sasuke was still somewhat uncomfortable with calling him anything but his name, but he was making an effort, and it was becoming more natural.

And now that they’d established that they loved each other, Naruto couldn’t get enough of hearing Sasuke actually say it.

It’s not like it happened all that often; Sasuke was very much a man of action, so Naruto didn’t hear it as much as he always imagined, but he didn’t mind so long as he had Sasuke as his.

“I love you, t- oh shit! I gotta go, she already has two scoops and they’re going in for more” Naruto said as he maneuvered Ren’s stroller towards the door.

He heard Sasuke give a genuine laugh before he’d ended the call.

Right as Naruto was opening the door, he heard someone shouting “Hey!”

Naruto stopped with Ren’s stroller still halfway in the door and turned to his side to see a large alpha approaching him.

His face looked friendly enough, but his dark blue hair, the strange gill-like tattoos under his eyes, and the sheer size of him were slightly off putting.

Naruto stood up a little straighter as the large alpha reached him.

“You dropped this back there. Figured it might be important” the alpha said as held up Ren’s favorite blanket.

Naruto was slapped in the face with the strong scent of what he could only describe as beach.

He didn’t know if it was possible for someone to just smell like beach, considering that it was a rather vague description, but that’s all that came to mind from the strong scent.

It wasn’t unpleasant or anything, just really uncommon.

“Oh!” Naruto said as he took a quick look at the undercarriage on Ren’s stroller to see that it had indeed fallen out.

“Thank you so much!” Naruto said as he took the blanket from the man.

“Not a problem” the alpha said with a nod before walking past Naruto and Ren, his gaze lingering on Naruto longer than necessary.

Naruto took a second to look at the guy as he walked away, finding it strange that he seemed familiar somehow.

He was pretty sure that he’d remember meeting someone with such distinctive features, but he couldn’t put a name to the face. 

He could’ve sworn that he’d seen him before, but then he remembered seeing a large alpha with blue hair when they’d left Sasuke’s building this morning.

He remembered it because a driver had honked at a black car for cutting them off behind Naruto this morning, and he had looked in his rear view to see a head of dark blue hair.

He felt his instincts starting to kick in and just felt uneasy about the whole situation.

He hurried in to be at Sarada’s side so that they could hurry back to his car.

He didn’t give a shit if his backseat would wind up covered in melted ice cream; he wanted them out of there now.

-

After making sure that Haku and Yakeru were set up in Choji’s office, Sasuke took a deep breath to steady himself in preparation for finally seeing his mother.

It’s been well over a year since he’d last seen her, and it was to tell her that her husband is the reason that her son is dead.

It’d crush her and he knew it.

He had arranged a meeting to break his mother’s heart.

He may be distant with her, but that was more to ensure that he wouldn’t have to see his father.

No matter what, she was still his mom, and outside of Itachi and Shisui, she was the only other person that he could look back on with fond childhood memories.

He didn’t want to have to be doing this to her, but he did want the end result that would come with this working out, so he adjusted his shirt collar and pushed on.

Sasuke made his way to one of the private rooms that he had booked at Choji’s restaurant to ensure that they’d be able to have some privacy.

Choji had been kind enough to move some stuff around to ensure that Sasuke could have the private room on such short notice.

It definitely paid to have friends in all kinds of places. He’d have to remember to thank Shikamaru later for introducing the two of them.

Sasuke hesitated as he came up to the large door, wondering if he really wanted this that badly.

As it turns out, yes. Yes he does.

He pushed open the door and was instantly hit with a wall of comfort from his mother’s scent.

His plan to treat this like any other business deal flew right out the window the second that his mother’s scent began wrapping around him like a weighted blanket.

“My baby! Let me look at you!” His mother gasped as she turned around with a warm smile to face him.

She quickly stood up and rushed over to him, using her delicate hands to turn his head from side to side and take in the sight of her beloved son.

Sasuke just stood in shock as his mother examined him to make sure that he was really there and to see if he’d changed in the time it’d been since they’d last seen each other.

“As handsome as ever” she said proudly as she wrapped her arms around his midsection and gave him what could only be described as the world’s most motherly hug.

“I’ve missed you, Sasuke” she breathed out as she squeezed him even harder.

He was surprised that his body just moved all on its own, and before he knew it, he was hugging her back, an actual, proper hug.

It wasn’t awkward or forced, and now he really felt like shit for what he was about to do.

“I’ve missed you too, mother” he croaked out, suddenly overwhelmed with a whirlwind of emotions.

_Why couldn’t we have just been a normal family?_

When Mikoto pulled back, her eyes had tears threatening to spill over her long bottom lashes, so she elegantly wiped them away.

“Now! To what to I owe the pleasure of my youngest baby wanting to grab lunch with me?” She said in an excited tone as she dragged Sasuke over to his chair.

It was surreal for Sasuke to actually be sitting down with his mother after so long.

It was as if they were a normal mother and son just catching up.

They ordered their food and he answered her questions about his life.

Everything was going smoothly until she asked him how Sakura and the kids were doing.

He almost dropped his fork with how shocked he was.

“Father hasn’t told you?” Sasuke asked, his tone going serious.

“Told me what, love?” She asked with an endearing look.

God, she was making it so hard for him to actually go through with this!

Sasuke sighed and set his utensils down before running a hand through his hair.

“I’m divorcing Sakura, mother” Sasuke sighed out.

He expected her to let out an incredulous gasp or something to that degree, but all she did was let out a satisfied hum of acknowledgment.

“So you knew?” Sasuke asked.

“No” Mikoto answered as she gently patted the sides of her mouth with her napkin before setting it back down in her lap.

“I didn’t know that you were currently divorcing Sakura, how could I when you won’t answer my calls, but I knew that one day you would” she finished.

When Sasuke did nothing but raise a brow in confusion, she elaborated.

“Honey, I’ve known that she is _far_ from your type since you were a teenager. I was just waiting for you to tell me that. I know your father isn’t the most tolerant person, but you didn’t have to marry her to keep us happy” she said in a tone that conveyed nothing but love for her son.

He literally had no control over the scoff that escaped his mouth.

Mikoto wasn’t even given the opportunity to chastise him for his lack of manners before Sasuke started in.

“You really have no idea what your husband does? What he’s done to my life!?” Sasuke balked.

All of those conflicting feelings about his mother had vanished.

Now he was filled with rage.

He understood that his father put on a good front, but she had to be trying to be this oblivious.

She should’ve protected her sons from him.

“Sasuke, baby. I know that your father isn’t the most affectionate man out there, but he’s only ever tried to give you the best” she said as she reached over the table and placed her hand on top of his clenched fist.

“He ruined my life!” Sasuke shouted, his emotions from the last few days finally boiling over.

“He knew I was gay! Sakura told him, and then he forced me into marrying her to secure a business alliance! He weaseled his way into fifty one percent of my company and dangled it over my head any chance that he got!” Sasuke seethed.

His mother looked shocked and scared.

She wasn’t worried that her son would hurt her, but he was a powerful alpha, and he was incredibly pissed.

“That can’t be true, Sasuke” she said weakly, like even she didn’t fully believe the words coming out of her own mouth.

“I’m telling you, it is. Just take a look at his records. You’ll see that Haruno Brokerage started pulling back right after I filed for divorce. I can show you that I filed for divorce the second that I had fifty one percent of my company” Sasuke said as he pulled his hand away from hers and looked her right in the eye.

Her eyes held a sadness that Sasuke unfortunately recognized.

She had always had an inkling of what was going on, but had turned a blind eye because it all looked so perfect on the outside.

She knew that she’d failed to protect her child.

She retracted her hand back to her lap and sighed.

“I didn’t know all of that. I had my suspicions that it was his idea for you to marry Sakura, I just didn’t think that it was anything to that extent” she said honestly as she met his eyes again.

“It was his _plan_ ” Sasuke grit out, his anger that should be directed primarily at his father working its way to the surface.

“That doesn’t matter much anymore. I’m divorcing Sakura and have found someone that I actually want to be with” Sasuke breathed out as he tried to calm himself down.

Thinking about Naruto was definitely doing the trick.

He felt that familiar warmth radiating from his mark and subconsciously ran his finger over it through his shirt.

“So are you serious about this person?” She asked gently.

Mikoto figured that this lunch all made sense now; Sasuke had found himself someone that he wanted to be with and had more than likely gotten them pregnant.

“Yes” Sasuke deadpanned as he caught himself running his fingers over his mark, placing his hands back on the table.

“And is there anything else that you wanted to tell me?” She asked with poorly concealed excitement.

Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes so hard that they got stuck at the back of his skull.

_Of course she’d breeze right past all of that and assume I called her to share good news. Nothing can go wrong in the Uchiha family!_

“He is an alpha” Sasuke said bluntly, wanting to shut down her hopes of them moving on to a happier topic.

“Oh, well, that doesn’t change anything. We’d still love to meet him” she said with painfully forced confidence.

She knew damn well that it changed everything.

Sasuke just let out a cynical chuckle.

“Yes, because the last time that a man showed up to the table as a dinner date, it ended so well” he spit out.

Mikoto visibly stiffened at the mention of anything having to do with Itachi.

“It’s different now, Sasuke. After loosing Itachi, your father wouldn’t let his beliefs get in the way of his relationship with his son. Not again” she said with a lingering sadness.

Sasuke scoffed.

He felt his fingers twitching with how hard he was fighting to control his rage.

“He’s why Itachi is dead! It’s because of him and his shady business that my brother is in the fucking ground!” Sasuke roared.

He could feel the pressure behind his eyes; he knew he was crying, but he didn’t give a shit.

His mother needed to know just what kind of monster she was trying to defend, see all of the pain that he’d caused for his own selfish reasons.

Mikoto gasped.

She looked so hurt by Sasuke’s words, because if they rang true, she knew that’d she be partially to blame, but in her mind it just couldn’t be true.

“Your brother’s death was no ones fault but the low lives that attacked him!” She cried out.

“You really believe that?! You believe that some muggers could’ve killed Itachi? That the case would go cold with absolutely no evidence, his custom car never showing up anywhere, anything!? With the connections this family has and with Shisui being the chief of police, you honestly think that some petty thieves could have possibly pulled that off without getting caught!?” Sasuke shouted.

He was convinced that she had to have completely deluded herself into fully believing that his father was a good man. There was no way a woman as smart as his mother could actually be this oblivious.

She either loved his father too much to want to accept what he truly was, or she couldn’t bear the guilt that would come with acknowledging that she should have known in order to protect her sons.

Either way, Sasuke couldn’t help but be upset with her complacency, intentional or not.

“What other reasons are there!? Who would’ve wanted to hurt Itachi, Sasuke!? That boy couldn’t have made an enemy if he tried!” She cried out, full on sobbing at this point.

It was true, his brother had been one of the kindest people Sasuke had ever known, but he had managed to make one enemy. Fugaku.

“He resigned, mom! He was leaving the company for Haku!” Sasuke shouted, desperate to convince her that it was true.

Her eyes went wide at that.

She had never once heard of Itachi wanting to step down from Fugaku’s company, not once.

“That can’t be true” she said in disbelief as her eyes moved like she was replaying any memory she could possibly have of being told anything even close to that.

Sasuke deflated.

He was beyond drained and hated seeing his mother like this, but he just knew that it would have to get worse before it could ever get any better.

“It is” Sasuke sighed out as he rested his elbows on the table, manners be damned, and put his face in his hands.

“He was coming to work for me while he started a tech company” Sasuke said, sounding like he hadn’t slept for years.

He heard his mother’s sharp intake of breath, recognizing that what Sasuke was saying was probably the truth.

Itachi had always been so fascinated and gifted when it came to anything having to do with technology.

She knew that it’d always been his dream to have his own company in that field.

“He was putting everything together to make sure that he and Haku would be comfortable. He handed in his formal resignation to father October sixth of twenty sixteen” Sasuke said, hoping that she put the pieces together herself.

Now he really understood why it’d been like pulling teeth to get Haku to talk to him about this in the first place.

There was broken sob from Mikoto that made Sasuke snap his head up.

She sounded devistated and it hurt him to see her like this.

She was just uncontrollably sobbing into her salad with her arms wrapped around herself for some level of comfort as Sasuke made her whole world crumble and brought up her dead son.

He sighed and walked over to her chair, kneeling down on one knee so that he could wrap his arm around her shoulder and rest his head against hers.

When she finally took in enough breaths to form a sentence, she asked, “Why are you telling me this? You’re trying to tell me that my husband murdered my son because he wanted to quit working for him!?”

She was still crying, and had her head tucked into Sasuke’s shoulder, but he could hear that she was angry, he just didn’t quite know who she was angry with.

His money was on him at the moment, but he really hoped that she’d see through the rose tinted glasses she’d been wearing for most of her life.

“No. He sent Kisame after Haku” Sasuke said as calmly as he could.

He knew that no matter how perfect she thought his father was, that she would know that Kisame was not exactly a secretary.

“Itachi went to Haku’s apartment to get him back and to see if he aborted their baby, but he ran into Kisame. Then Haku showed up” Sasuke sighed out.

He made a genuine effort to remain as calm and comforting as possible, but his muscles were tensing against his will at the disgust that he felt for his father.

“Itachi made sure that Haku got away safely” Sasuke finished with a broken breath.

He was two seconds away from sobbing just like his mother.

It was all so cruel and unfair. 

The violent sobbing continued to wrack his mother’s body and all that he could think to do was hold her until she calmed down, not convinced that she ever would.

This was the kind of shit that could crush a person’s entire spirit.

“The part of town they- they found him in. It’s where Haku lived” she sniffled out against Sasuke’s shoulder.

It had taken multiple minutes of her just crying into his suit for her to say anything, but Sasuke was relieved to hear her say that.

It sounded like she was starting to believe it.

Sasuke nodded as he used his grip on her shoulders to gently move her into a normal position.

He stood up and grabbed his chair, bringing it directly in front of her’s.

“I need you to trust me on this, mom” Sasuke said as he grabbed her hands in his to try and show her some form of love right now.

She had to think that he was the cruelest son in the world right now, but he wanted to show her that he wasn’t doing this just to hurt her.

“I’ve been in contact with agent Hatake. He is confident that if we can get dad’s books, his _real_ books, then he can send dad to jail for life” he said bluntly.

There was no other way to put it, so there was no use in beating around the bush. His mother knew of Kakashi, and had for years, so she knew that this had to be serious.

“What do you want from me, Sasuke?” She croaked out.

Every emotion possible was on her face, and it truly hurt Sasuke to see his mother like this.

“Kakashi needs dad’s private books. Itachi told me that you’re the only one that he’ll let touch them. Get him the books and the sentence is as good as guilty” Sasuke said, as close to begging as he was willing to get.

He was banking on her morals outweighing her loyalty to her husband, but when he could tell that she was still conflicted, he let out a sigh laced with regret.

He really didn’t want to have to go this far with her, but he knew what would do it, it’s why he’d asked Haku to meet him here.

Sasuke shook his head and stood up, walking over to the door.

Choji gave him this particular private room because it shared a wall with his office.

All Sasuke had to do was lean a little out of the opener door and knock on Choji’s office door.

Sasuke knew Haku had to have heard everything, so he wasn’t surprised when the omega immediately swung the door open.

Sasuke just held his arm out towards the room his mother was in, staying in the doorway as Haku nervously walked through the door, one arm still holding onto Yakeru’s shoulder in Choji’s office.

Mikoto’s head rose and she was shocked to see the petite omega. 

She hadn’t heard anything about him in years, and after Itachi’s death, she’d even tried to get into contact with him for months.

Before Mikoto could speak, Haku held up his hand.

He wanted to make it very clear that unless what she was going to say was ‘I’ll help’, that he did not want to hear it.

“I want you to see what your husband broke. What he took from Itachi, from me, from you, and from Sasuke” Haku said coldly as he brought Yakeru in front of him for Mikoto to see.

Sasuke was shocked at how firmly and coldly Haku was speaking. He thought that the omega would be a nervous wreck, and for good reason, but he was doing better than Sasuke would’ve ever thought possible.

Mikoto went stiff and let out a small gasp of “Itachi?”

She knew it wasn’t her son, it couldn’t be, but she knew exactly what it meant.

She knew that there was no way that this boy wasn’t her grandson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here we fucking goooooo!  
> Now the drama begins(;
> 
> I am not sure if I’m planning on dragging it out for too long, just because I don’t want it to get any more outlandish and come off as too unrealistic, but let me know what you guys would prefer!(:
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope that you guys are ready for more, because I am hoping to update a little quicker for the next few parts!(:
> 
> Once more, I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my messy writing(:  
> Thank you, guys, I hope you’re all doing well!<3
> 
> Thank you to everyone that left comments on the last chapter!  
> I will be replying to all of you later tonight!<3


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finishing up the meeting of Mama Mikoto, then onto fluff and more smut!
> 
> Are you sick of it yet?   
> Because I could write it forever(;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another huge thank you to Meehalla and Freakontour for giving this look through for typos!

Sasuke was honestly shocked to see Haku holding his son over Mikoto’s head as leverage.

It was cruel, but very much necessary.

He just hadn’t expected for someone as gentle as Haku to have it in them. He was impressed.

Sasuke studied his mother’s face from where he still stood behind Haku, her eyes never once leaving Yakeru’s face.

It was like she was suddenly hurled back in time and seeing her son as a little boy again.

It made her heart ache.

She was attempting to memorize every feature on her grandson’s face, having a hard time wrapping her head around just how much he looked like Itachi.

The thought of demanding a paternity test never even crossed her mind. She was undoubtedly looking at Itachi’s child.

“Can-“ Mikoto had to take a steadying breath to avoid cutting off her words with another bout of crying.

“Can I say hello to him?” She asked Haku.

Haku stood protectively behind his son, his hand still resting on his small shoulder as he gave a curt nod.

As manipulative as it was, both Haku and Sasuke knew that Mikoto would have to get somewhat attached to the thought of Yakeru for this to really work.

Mikoto gently took her napkin off of her lap and placed it on the table before standing on somewhat shaky legs.

She carefully approached them, and with a final questioning look directed at Haku, she crouched down to be at eye level with Yakeru.

“Hi” she croaked out with wet eyes.

Despite the obvious pain she was feeling, Mikoto couldn’t hide her smile no matter how hard she tried. This was her eldest son’s baby.

A piece of something so precious to her that she’d thought she’d lost forever.

“Hi” Yakeru squeaked out, still not the most social of pups out there.

He was pushing his back into Haku’s legs, clearly not all that comfortable with the stranger in front of him.

“What’s you’re name?” She asked as she shuffled back the slightest bit, sensing the young boy’s anxiety.

When Yakeru didn’t answer, only bringing his hand up to clutch at his mother’s, Haku answered for him.

“His name is Yakeru” Haku answered as he began rubbing his son’s shoulder to try and soothe him.

Yakeru may only be three years old, but he is a smart kid. He was perceptive enough to know that his mother never forced him to be around people that he didn’t know or like, so he guessed that the pretty woman had to know his mother somehow.

Plus, he also registered that she looked a lot like his uncle. 

“Who are you?” He asked, finally making eye contact with the woman before him.

Mikoto’s eyes flashed up to Haku once again, silently asking for permission to reveal her relation to her grandson. 

When Haku shook his head, Mikoto couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

She knew what all of this was; a tactic, and a damn good one.

She didn’t even have it in her to be upset with Sasuke and Haku for parading her grandson in front of her while allowing her to do virtually nothing about it. She just wanted to be able to give him a hug one day.

“My name is Mikoto. I knew your mommy before she had you” Mikoto said with a shockingly convincing smile.

“Does that mean you knew my dad?” Yakeru asked, still undecided on whether or not he liked Mikoto.

Anytime that Yakeru got a chance to know something about his father, he instantly jumped on the opportunity, that’d been the main factor in him letting Sasuke in so easily.

Mikoto struggled to hold in her tears, but nodded as she said, “I did” like it physically pained her to admit that she knew Itachi, but keeping in the fact that she was his mother.

Out of habit, she raised her hand to go and tuck a stray piece of Yakeru’s hair behind his ear, something she’d had to constantly do for Itachi when his hair started getting long.

She stopped in her tracks when Haku gently pulled his son closer to his legs, lowering her hand in understanding.

Mikoto hadn’t even noticed that Sasuke had left until he returned with a large alpha.

“Thank you again, Choji. You’re sure that you don’t mind keeping an eye on him for a bit?” Sasuke said, pulling Mikoto’s eyes off of Yakeru for what felt like the first time since he’d been revealed to her.

“No problem at all, Sasuke! C’mon little one, let’s go make you your own special dessert” he said with a friendly smile as he held out his huge hand.

Yakeru perked up at the promise of sugar, but other than that, he made no move towards Choji.

It wasn’t until Haku whispered, “It’s alright, Ru. Go ahead. Mama will come get you soon” as he squeezed Yakeru’s shoulder.

Mikoto looked as if she were about to say something, possibly ask that Yakeru please stay, but decided against it and stood up.

As soon as Yakeru was with Choji, Sasuke and Haku fully entered the room and shut the door behind them.

“So you kept the baby” Mikoto said in disbelief as she rested her hands on the table and hung her head between them.

“I did” Haku answered as he and Sasuke calmly took a seat in two of the empty chairs.

“So what now, then? You don’t allow me to see him unless I agree to betray my husband?” Mikoto spit out, still in the same position.

Her voice was ice cold, like one a mother would use when she felt her child was being threatened.

This was not the starting point Sasuke had hoped for.

Instead of wanting to do whatever she could to be involved in her grandson’s life, his mother was royally pissed.

“I already don’t get to see Sarada and Ren. Now you tell me that Itachi has a son, a son that I won’t be allowed to know unless I do what you want?” Mikoto seethed as she raised her head to finally look at the pair sitting across the table.

Her face was stoic, but her eyes held a fierce edge to them that was indicative of an Uchiha that was ready for a battle.

“No” Haku spoke up, surprising Sasuke.

Sasuke had just been about to speak, figuring that he’d be better suited for de escalating the situation.

“You can know him, but your husband absolutely cannot, and there really isn’t a way to keep the two of you separate. If he gets one whiff of my scent on you, I’m as good as dead. You can choose to think of me as a liar, Mikoto, but he sent Kisame after me, and it wasn’t for a friendly chat” Haku said before sighing and resting his elbows on the table.

“So long as he is a free man and knows about me being here, I’m not safe, and I can’t be certain if my son is or not. I won’t risk putting him in danger. We’re simply showing you what else you’ll be turning your back on if you keep protecting Fugaku” Haku said firmly.

Mikoto looked down at her hands, contemplating the options that she’d just been given.

It broke her heart to have to miss out on so much of Sarada’s and Ren’s lives, and now she had Yakeru to be sad about as well.

She let out a deep sigh after a few moments.

“Look me in my eyes and tell me that my husband is the reason that my son is dead” Mikoto said in a stern tone that even managed to send chills through Sasuke.

He’d never seen his mother like this in all of his life; so fierce and exuding an aura of power.

She raised her head and met Haku’s eyes, hoping to find some hint of uncertainty, but when Haku spoke, there wasn’t a single trace.

“Fugaku is the reason that Itachi is dead” Haku said with one hundred percent certainty.

Mikoto’s proud shoulders deflated, along with all of the fight that she had possessed just seconds ago.

It was the last thing in the world that she wanted to believe, but how could she not?

What purpose would Haku have in lying to her?

What reason could Sasuke have for orchestrating this whole thing if it wasn’t the truth?

“I need to hear specifics before I can even consider any of this” Mikoto sighed out.

-

Sasuke knew that he was just going to blow off the rest of his calls for the day the second that his lunch went over the hour that he’d originally allotted himself.

He was dead tired, and none of the people that he was supposed to talk to today were incredibly crucial, so it could wait.

He trudged up to his apartment, completely running on autopilot, just trying to make it to his comfortable bed before passing out from exhaustion.

The physical exhaustion he could handle, but when it was paired with emotional overload, he was done for.

He managed to make it to his bedroom and at the very least kick off his shoes before plunging face first onto the luxurious comforter.

He maneuvered himself while lifting as little of his body as possible and eventually shimmied underneath the thick blanket, allowing himself to truly relax for the first time in almost a week.

He expected for sleep to overcome him instantaneously, lord knew he fucking needed it, but he just couldn’t get comfortable.

He huffed and turned over in hopes that maybe a position change would do the trick, but he was just disappointed.

With him now facing what had quickly become Naruto’s side of the bed, he knew why.

Being away from the person that’d marked him, so soon after the partial bond was really fucking with Sasuke’s mind.

He felt this pull to him, like how he’d heard alphas talk about wanting to always be by their omega’s sides.

His desire to ensure the blonde’s safety had amplified exponentially thanks to the bond.

Sasuke was stubborn and irritatingly proud, but he was desperate here.

He let out another irritated huff and slid himself over to the other side of the bed.

The second that his head hit the pillow, he might as well have taken three Xanax. 

Naruto’s scent hit him right away and dulled the edge of irritation that he’d felt clawing at him from the inside for the last few days.

He fought to keep his eyes open long enough to set the alarm on his phone, figuring that a three hour nap would give him enough energy to properly function.

-

“DADDY!!” Sarada squealed as soon as they’d walked in the door.

Sasuke was at the stove, plating the dinner that he’d cooked for them.

When he’d been pulled from his nap, he had the urge to pamper Naruto, so he got his ass up, showered, then cleaned the house.

There wasn’t all that much to do, but with Naruto handling two kids by himself while working had left less pressing chores unattended.

Sasuke didn’t want Naruto to feel like he had to do everything on his own, even if he kind of had been lately.

Sasuke didn’t want this to be like his ‘relationship’ with Sakura. He wanted them to be a team, and Sasuke hadn’t been pulling his weight lately, not that Naruto minded. Naruto completely understood, but he couldn’t deny the relief that washed over him when he saw that last night’s dishes and bottles were already washed.

“Hi, princess” Sasuke said as he set the plate in his hand down and crouched down for Sarada to run right into his chest.

“We missed you” she breathed out into his hair as she burrowed into him as much as she possibly could.

“I missed you guys, too” he replied honestly.

 _Fuck_ , had he missed them.

He used to go what felt like weeks without seeing his family awake and be fine, but now that he knew what he was missing out on, he couldn’t stand it.

“You’re home?” Naruto said, still standing by the door and holding Ren.

The last thing that he was expecting to see when he unlocked the door was Sasuke, but to come home to a clean house and dinner already made?

_Have I died and gone to fucking heaven?_

The blonde alpha hadn’t wanted anything more than for Sasuke to be home with them again, missing him and seeing him with the kids.

He just couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that he was actually home before three in the morning!

Sasuke never struck Naruto as the type of guy that enjoyed surprises, so for Sasuke to not have even shot him a text to let him know definitely made this a surprise. A very pleasant one.

“I am” Sasuke said with a smirk as he released Sarada and made his way over to Naruto.

Naruto was so eager to be wrapped up in his mate’s arms that he just set Ren down next to his feet and pressed his lips against Sasuke’s.

They kept it short and sweet for the sake of the children present, but Naruto could sense how affected Sasuke was by having him close again.

“Down, boy. We still have to eat dinner” Naruto whispered with an ear splitting grin.

Sasuke let out a growl that was a mixture of irritated and hungry, just not for food, but he did it with such soft eyes that Naruto knew he wasn’t actually upset.

Sasuke placed a chaste kiss to Naruto’s lips, but couldn’t resist teasing him at least a little bit.

“Fine then” he whispered against the blonde’s full lips before lightly nipping at the bottom one, smirking at the gasp that escaped between them.

Before Naruto could do anything more, Sasuke bent down to scoop up his son.

He placed a loving kiss to the top of his head before letting out a content sigh as he looked fondly at the baby in his arms.

For a second there Naruto thought that Sasuke was going to get all sappy on him, seeing as how the alpha seemed to be in a rather soft mood tonight, but of course that wouldn’t be happening.

“God, I’m glad you kids look like me” he said with sarcastic relief.

Naruto let out a fond chuckle, knowing that was Sasuke speak for, ‘You’re so goddamn cute’.

“Why are you wearing a hoodie? It’s like eighty degrees in here” Naruto asked as a distraction from the aching he felt in his heart.

He knew that he’d never be able to give Sasuke children, but seeing him so sweet with Sarada and Ren made him want nothing more.

He figured a good distraction was how cute Sasuke currently looked all bundled up.

He was in a thick, black hoodie with the hood pulled over his hair that looked fluffy and damp, and a pair of black joggers.

Naruto had gotten used to seeing Sasuke out of a suit over the last few weeks, but this level of comfort was something new.

The blonde was worried that something had happened to make Sasuke need comfort.

“Why was it tucked under your pillow?” Sasuke asked with a smirk as he buckled Ren into his high chair.

Naruto felt his face heat up at being caught.

He hadn’t recognized it, but after taking a closer look, there was no denying that it was the hoodie that Naruto had resorted to sleeping with.

The thick material held Sasuke’s scent prisoner in the fibers, and it was the only thing soft enough to do the trick.

Naruto didn’t think that Sasuke would appreciate him wrinkling one of his fancy suit jackets just because he missed him.

“It was either that or the Armani” Naruto said as he finished plating the food so that Sasuke could sit with Sarada.

As much as that little girl loved her Naru, she was a daddy’s girl through and through.

She’d missed Sasuke so much the last few days. He didn’t mind waiting to have Sasuke’s attention so long as he got to see her as happy as she was.

“Good call” Sasuke said with a smirk before turning back to Sarada so that she could continue telling him about her week.

Dinner went by quickly, but it was oddly quiet.

It almost felt empty with just the four of them seated at the table.

Haku and Yakeru were eating dinner at Haku’s friend, Konan’s, house, so it was just them.

Naruto was glad to just have it be their little family, but he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t miss the craziness that came with having another kid running around the house. 

_There goes that fucking ache again!_

Naruto was just a mess.

He knew that it was just his incomplete bond with Sasuke, but he was literally seconds away from crying at the table.

The comfort of having Sasuke’s mark would bring all of his emotions back to baseline, but without it, they were going haywire.

The last few days he’d cried more about his secondary gender than he ever had before and it was draining.

But then Sasuke’s hand was on Naruto’s.

Sasuke wasn’t even looking at Naruto, just listening intently to Sarada’s story. It was like he just knew when Naruto needed him.

That really did make his eyes water.

_Fucking incomplete bond!_

After the table was cleared and the kids were taken up to their rooms, Sasuke found himself excited to tell Naruto about his day.

He didn’t feel the need to hide how he was feeling for once in his life, and it was all because of the blonde that was still upstairs.

Sasuke poured himself a Karin sized portion of scotch and slumped into his favorite chair, willing himself to stay conscious until Naruto joined him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as his head rested against the chair, decompressing from the anxiety attack that is his life.

Before he knew it, he was jolting up, confused as shit.

He thought he’d just blinked, but apparently it was a long blink, because he’d fallen asleep.

He leaned over to see the time on the oven, letting out a sigh of relief when he realized that it’d only been a little over a half an hour.

It might be a short amount of time for a nap, but Sasuke was surprised that Naruto hadn’t come down yet and woken him up.

Naruto could usually have Ren down in under twenty minutes, even on his fussy nights.

Sasuke did a quick check of his bedroom to make sure that Naruto hadn’t just left him to sleep because of the hours he’s had to work lately, but no dice.

Sasuke quietly made his way up the stairs and silently made his way to Ren’s bedroom.

As he approached the open door, he heard quiet sniffling, recognizing that it belonged to Naruto.

His inner alpha instantly perked up and made him stick his head in the doorway.

Sasuke from six months ago would have ran as fast as possible in the other direction the second that he heard someone crying, but not now. Not when it’s Naruto.

Sasuke looked in the room to see Naruto cuddling Ren to his chest as he rocked the infant in the plush rocking chair, trying his best to keep his crying quiet as he stared at Ren’s sleeping form.

“Is everything okay?” Sasuke whispered as he stepped into the nursery.

Naruto’s head shot up and embarrassment flashed across his face.

He tried to wipe the tears off of his cheeks with his shoulder as best as he could without jostling the sleeping baby in his arms, attempting to seem completely fine.

“Oh, yeah. I’m good” Naruto whispered as snapped out of it and got up to set Ren down in his crib.

Sasuke wasn’t buying it. Not for a second.

As soon as they were in the hallway and Ren’s door was closed, Sasuke held onto Naruto’s arm to keep him from walking to the living room.

“Is it because I haven’t been home?” Sasuke asked, dreading that he might’ve hurt Naruto.

He knew that no one would be thrilled with the current state of things, but he still wasn’t the greatest with realistically considering other people’s emotions.

“I know that the kids can be a lot and I’m sorry for just putting that on you. I’ll call Shikamaru tomorrow and have hi-“ Sasuke rambled out his apology, hoping to get in front of the problem, but Naruto stopped him with a tired chuckle.

“No, no. It’s not that. I’ve loved getting to be with them. I just-“ Naruto cut himself off with a sigh as he scratched the back of his neck.

“It’s nothing, really. It’s dumb” Naruto finished with an unconvincing laugh.

“What’s going on? If it’s bothering you then it isn’t dumb” Sasuke said.

“I wasn’t crying because I’m sad or anything. It’s just my emotions are all over the place since I gave you your mark and Ren kept-“ Naruto looked like he was ready to stop himself again, but after a concerned look from Sasuke during his brief pause, he continued. 

“He kept saying mama. And I know that it’s just baby talk and that they babble without knowing what words and sounds mean, but it felt like he was saying it to me and I just lost it. I know it’s dumb, but the thought of him seeing me as his mom just overwhelmed me a little, alright? But not in a bad way!” Naruto rushed out, hoping that he didn’t make Sasuke think that he didn’t want Ren to see him as his mom, but also not wanting Sasuke to feel like he was pushing that development.

The blonde alpha hadn’t even realized that he was looking anywhere but Sasuke’s face until he jerked his head up at the sound of Sasuke’s deep chuckle.

“You were crying because you’re happy?” Sasuke asked, never having experienced that kind of emotional freedom before.

He knew that it was a thing most people did, he’d just never experienced it before.

He hadn’t even seen Sakura shed a single tear of joy for the births of their children, yet here Naruto was, overcome with joy at Ren babbling the word mama to him.

_He really is too fucking precious._

“Yeah” Naruto admitted, not wanting Sasuke to view him as too emotional.

“I’ve always wanted kids, like a lot, but given my preferences, it’s never been an actual possibility for me before. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to replace Sakura or anything. I’m not trying to get them to see me as their mother, I just-“ Naruto was rambling.

He felt like their mother with every fiber of his being, and hated having to act like he was just the fun uncle or something. 

He wanted to be able to freely claim them as his pups without worrying that he was crossing any lines.

Naruto cut himself off with a sigh, blaming his flustered state on the bond mark situation, and tried to gather his thoughts.

Before he could recover from his bout of word vomit, Sasuke stepped forward, pressing his firm chest against Naruto’s.

“If you’ll have the title, it’s yours” Sasuke said softly as he wound his arms sweetly around Naruto’s hips.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke with somewhat guarded eyes, like he thought the other alpha was just messing with him.

“You’ve known both of the kids since they were six weeks old. You’ve shown them more affection in the last two months than their biological mother has in their entire lives. It’s not something that you have to force. Sarada has called you her mom multiple times, and honestly, you’re the only mother that Ren will ever know” Sasuke said sincerely as he watched the weight of his words settle into Naruto’s brain with an amused smirk.

The blonde was rather cute when he tried to not cry. He kind of pouted.

It was an endearing sight.

Not only had Sasuke just validated all of the feelings that had been eating away at him for the duration of their relationship, but he basically promised that Naruto wasn’t going anywhere.

Sasuke saw this as being as permanent as Naruto does.

“So what do you say? You want to keep fighting it or just finally let Sarada call you Mommy?” Sasuke teased.

He was being entirely serious, but if Naruto thought that he was capable of hiding his true feelings, Sasuke couldn’t help but jab at it.

It’s always been obvious, even to Sasuke, that Naruto saw the kids as his own.

Naruto knew that if he opened his mouth to speak that he’d just start crying, so he just pressed himself as close to Sasuke as possible and laid the most heartfelt kiss that he could manage onto Sasuke’s soft lips.

Naruto doubted that even a marriage proposal could top that. He was finally, truly getting his family!

Despite the effective distraction of Sasuke’s sinful mouth working against his, Naruto began to feel tears on his cheeks.

_God dammit!_

Sasuke pulled back when things started getting more intense, not wanting to get too worked up so far away from their bedroom.

“Happy tears?” Sasuke asked with a smirk as he rested his forehead against Naruto’s, pretty sure that he already knew the answer.

“Yeah” Naruto laughed out with a snort that was the vocal equivalent of an eyeroll. 

“Did you want to see about fixing your emotional problem?” Sasuke whispered as he ran his finger down Naruto’s neck and hungrily eyed the scent gland on Naruto’s neck.

Just the thought of finally getting to sink his teeth into it had his canines radiating a dull ache of desire, but can you blame the guy?

He’d gone from having constant sex, at least twice a day, to not even seeing his boyfriend while he was awake.

They had unresolved business to attend to.

“Oh thank god, yes!” Naruto groaned out like it was music to ears as he grabbed Sasuke’s hand and dragged him to the bedroom.

The blonde was on a mission for dick and a mark, but he did have a surprise for Sasuke.

Sasuke made to grab for Naruto as soon as the door was shut, but Naruto shook his head as he put his hand between Sasuke’s pectorals and backed him up.

“Uh uh. I have a present for you first” Naruto said with a mischievous grin as the back of Sasuke’s knees hit the bed, forcing him to sit.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s wrist and tried to pull the blonde alpha down on top of him, but Naruto just stuck his free hand out to catch himself.

He was straddling Sasuke and looming over him, looking rather amused at Sasuke’s neediness.

Now that Sasuke no longer had to will away his boner, he was tenting his sweatpants obscenely and growing pathetically impatient.

Sasuke would deny it until the day he died, but Naruto saw the traces of a pout on Sasuke’s face.

The blonde briefly took pity on the other alpha, pressing their chests together and connected their lips in a desperate, deep kiss.

Naruto kind of lost track of what the hell it was that he was supposed to be doing with the way Sasuke dragged his tongue across his and used the tip to tease the roof of Naruto’s mouth.

When Naruto whined into the kiss and pressed their clothed erections together, Sasuke exhaled in a smirk, thinking that he’d won this war of wills.

Naruto ground his hips down into Sasuke’s, causing the Uchiha to groan out at the jolt of pleasure that shot through him.

Almost a week without a chance to even jack off had him extremely sensitive.

One of Sasuke’s hands came up to wrap around the back of Naruto’s neck to pull him even deeper into the kiss while his other hand went to Naruto’s hip and guided him to grind down again.

Naruto let out that breathy whimper that always drove Sasuke wild as Sasuke thrust his hips to meet Naruto’s.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you” Sasuke breathed out after pulling away to slip his hoodie off over his head.

“I’ve missed you t- HEY!” Naruto stopped himself before he was able to fully take his shirt off.

“That’s not fair, I said I have a surprise for you” Naruto balked as he rolled off of Sasuke.

Sasuke played it cool, acting as if he had no idea what Naruto was talking about. 

He’d never resort to such a cheap trick of distracting the blonde in order to get in his pants quicker. Never.

Even though he definitely did.

“Alright, fine” Sasuke huffed out fondly as he made a show of adjusting his joggers.

If he had to wait, he wanted Naruto to know that he was not thrilled about it.

“No peeking, okay?” Naruto said excitedly, completely unperturbed by Sasuke’s eagerness to get to the main event.

“Scouts honor” Sasuke deadpanned as he brought himself on his elbows and shut his eyes.

Sasuke could hear Naruto snort out a laugh as he began digging through the walk-in closet, so he cracked one of his eyes open and craned his neck to see a now shirtless Naruto in the closet.

Sasuke couldn’t help that his eye remained open and lingered on the newly exposed and rather tempting skin.

“You weren’t a fucki- Hey! I said no peeking!” Naruto said indignantly as he looked over to see Sasuke with one eye open.

“I’m sorry” Sasuke said with a chuckle, not sounding the least bit sorry.

He found Naruto’s excitement about whatever he had for him to be quite endearing, especially when he got all riled up. Kind of like an angry sprite.

“No you’re not” Naruto said as he approached Sasuke with his hands held behind his back.

“That my surprise?” Sasuke asked.

“Mmhmm” Naruto hummed as he nodded. 

“Now close your eyes” Naruto said in a teasing tone.

Sasuke raised his brow, but eventually sighed and indulged the blonde when Naruto tacked on a cute, drawn out ‘please’ to the end.

Sasuke felt Naruto straddle him again and when he felt Naruto’s hand in his hair, he expected a kiss, not for something to be tied around his head.

Naruto caught Sasuke off guard and managed to secure one of Sasuke’s ties over his eyes before Sasuke could do anything about it.

“Now you can’t ruin the surprise. No touching it till I say so or you can make do with just your hand” Naruto said smugly as he got off of Sasuke and went back to the closet.

“I don’t like surprises” Sasuke deadpanned.

He normally hated being caught off guard, but he was just messing with Naruto. Sasuke didn’t think it’d be possible for him to ever dislike anything that Naruto did for or to him.

“Shocker” Naruto replied, sassier than normal. It made Sasuke let out a chuckle, residing himself to simply wait for Naruto’s precious surprise.

He reached up to the material resting over his eyes and instantly recognized it as one of his ties.

“You know, if you’re trying to get me to ‘calm down’, this isn’t the way to do it” Sasuke called out.

For someone who normally craved being in control, he didn’t hate the slight bit of sensory deprivation, not if his still very present erection was anything to go off of.

Sasuke just heard Naruto let out a laugh, sounding much closer than the closet.

Sasuke perked up a little, trying his best to pinpoint exactly where Naruto was, because it sounded like he was standing in front of him.

He didn’t want to risk breaking Naruto’s little ‘rule’ but he was aching _everywhere_ for his mate.

“You’re impatient. Ever heard that good things come to those who wait?” Naruto teased as he got back on Sasuke’s lap to straddle him once more.

The second that Sasuke felt Naruto’s strong thighs boxing his own in, his hands went up to grab them.

He just felt an irresistible urge to touch all of Naruto.

Sasuke was happy to feel warm, tan skin under his fingers instead of the rough material of Naruto’s jeans.

Naruto allowed Sasuke to trail his large, pale hands over his thighs, letting the warmth spread from Sasuke’s hands into his bare skin.

Naruto started to breathe a little heavier as Sasuke’s grip became more aggressive.

The blonde’s breath hitched entirely when he felt Sasuke lean forward to press his lips against the side of Naruto’s neck, teasingly swiping his tongue over the sensitive skin.

“This my surprise?” Sasuke teased as he dragged his nails lightly down Naruto’s exposed thighs.

Not that he was complaining or anything, but a naked Naruto was hardly a surprise to Sasuke anymore.

He just didn’t see why Naruto made such a big dea-

_Fuck._

“Naruto, take this tie off of me” Sasuke growled out, his alpha tone completely out of his control at this point and in full force.

When he’d had enough of running his hands over Naruto’s thighs, his hand had come up to grope the firm muscles of Naruto’s perfect ass, only to feel thin, soft lace under his fingers.

Sasuke wasn’t sure if it was physically possible for him to get any harder.

Naruto purposely took his sweet time in undoing the knot in the tie at the back of Sasuke’s head, gently lowering the material once it was undone.

Sasuke’s eyes flashed wildly, barely able to take notice of the shy grin that Naruto wore on his face before his lust blown eyes were on Naruto’s waist.

Sasuke was almost in a trance as he ran his hands over the deep red lace of the beautiful panties, in awe at how good they looked straining against Naruto’s impressive length. 

There was a small bead of precum seeping through the intricate fabric by the head and Sasuke felt every last drop of blood in his body rush straight into his cock.

Sasuke threw himself back onto the bed.

“You’re gonna kill me” he groaned out.

He needed a minute to calm himself the hell down before he came in his damn pants.

“Do you not like them? It's just- I remembered how much you seemed to like the idea” Naruto said, his voice laced with insecurity at not being instantly ravaged.

“I fucking love it. I’m just trying to avoid knotting the waistband of my pants right now” Sasuke said, making Naruto laugh.

He took in some steadying breaths to try and regain his composure as quickly as possible.

He didn’t take much time, not capable of having his eyes off of Naruto right now.

Sasuke sat back up and latched onto Naruto’s nipple, swirling his tongue just how he knew Naruto liked.

The blonde alpha arched his back to get more of the unexpected sensation and gasped.

His hands found their way into Sasuke’s unbelievably thick hair as the other alpha just had his way with him.

Sasuke spent time licking and lightly biting at both of Naruto’s nipples before trailing his tongue all the way up to Naruto’s unmarred scent gland.

Sasuke gave a teasing bite to the sensitive flesh, just hard enough to ease some of the aching he felt in his canines.

He let out a low growl from deep in his chest at Naruto’s hushed cry.

“Stand up for me” Sasuke grunted out against Naruto’s neck.

Naruto got on shaky legs and stood in front of Sasuke at the foot of the bed, his tan hands still in the mess of black hair.

“So you like them?” Naruto asked hopefully as he just watched Sasuke’s eyes devour the sight of him.

Sasuke’s hands that were resting on Naruto’s hips tightened their grip.

“God yes” Sasuke breathed out, looking like he couldn’t make himself look away from the dark red fabric.

“So fucking gorgeous” Sasuke said in awe as he trailed his finger lightly over Naruto’s confined, but still very visible erection.

Sasuke almost lost his damn mind when he saw Naruto’s dick twitch in the lace, groaning at how perfectly the fabric molded to every curve.

Naruto was beaming from ear to ear, happy as could be that he’d managed to both surprise and please Sasuke.

Sasuke flicked his eyes up to Naruto’s before he got to his feet, coming eye to eye with the blonde alpha. 

Sasuke didn’t even bother to start off slow with the kiss he pressed onto Naruto’s lips; his tongue sliding against the other alpha’s right away, eagerly swallowing all of Naruto’s desperate moans.

“Turn around for me?” Sasuke asked, surprisingly soft after breaking their kiss.

Naruto didn’t hesitate to oblige, turning around right away and walking over to the dresser and resting his hands on it with his ass on display for Sasuke’s viewing pleasure.

Sasuke indulged himself and just admired Naruto’s ass being hugged by the panties.

Naruto turned to look over his shoulder to see what the hold up was, feeling his face heat up at the predatory gaze Sasuke was giving him as he lightly palmed the bulge in his pants.

“You really are gorgeous” Sasuke said with a disbelieving shake of his head as he stepped closer to Naruto.

Naruto felt a warm shiver work it’s way down his body. Being praised by Sasuke always got to him in ways that he’d never thought possible.

Naruto waited for Sasuke to press teasing kisses down his back, Sasuke always seemed to take great joy in torturing Naruto, but all he heard was a gentle ‘thud’.

Sasuke dropped to his knees right behind Naruto and began running his hands all over the backs of Naruto’s strong thighs and ass.

The Uchiha groaned when he harshly grabbed at the rounded muscles and pulled them apart the slightest bit.

He couldn’t resist any longer, biting at the exposed flesh of Naruto’s ass below the lace.

Naruto gasped and hung his head between his arms, preparing himself for what he just knew was going to be a mind numbing amount of pleasure.

Sasuke continued to nip at Naruto’s skin, sometimes hard enough to leave a lasting mark, but he’d always make up for it by smoothing his tongue over the angry bit of skin.

It wasn’t until Sasuke spread his ass and licked a bold stripe across his hole over the panties that Naruto let out a drawn out moan.

“Holy shit” Naruto breathed out.

Sasuke smirked as he sat back in his bent knees to admire Naruto one last time before he absolutely wrecked him.

Naruto let out a little whine and began wiggling his hips impatiently at the loss of contact, but he relaxed when he felt Sasuke’s long fingers hook into the waistband of the panties.

The Uchiha took his sweet ass time dragging them down Naruto’s legs, but once they were down far enough for gravity to do the rest, he quite literally dove in.

He licked a bold stripe from Naruto’s balls up to his hole and circled his tongue.

Naruto let out an unrestrained moan as he made to spread his legs further apart, but Sasuke stopped him by nudging at his knee.

Naruto got the hint and easily lifted his knee up onto the dresser to give Sasuke better access.

Sasuke revelled in the debauched moans that were spilling from Naruto’s mouth, his erection twitching every time Naruto let out a particularly loud one.

“Please, Sasuke! I need your knot, let me cum on your knot” Naruto begged as he willed himself not to cum simply from being rimmed.

He was so sensitive and it had been so long since he’d been properly fucked, so he was quickly on his way to a premature end.

Sasuke was on the same page, the aching in his pants getting almost unbearable as he thoroughly took Naruto apart bit by bit.

He made to stand up to go and retrieve the lube, but then Naruto breathed out, “On the bed” and motioned to the bed behind them with a jerk of his blonde head.

He sounded so hazy and far off that Sasuke turned around in a hurry, eager to return to push Naruto further into that blissed out state.

Sasuke’s eyes landed on the lube Naruto must’ve had the forethought to grab before presenting his little surprise.

_Thank fucking God._

Sasuke snatched that shit up with the quickness of a desperate man and wasted no time in spreading it liberally on two of his fingers.

When he turned back around, still on his knees, it was to the sight of Naruto in the same position, impatiently jerking himself off for some kind of relief in his aching hard on.

“I got a no touching rule, so you do too. You want my knot so badly, then you’ll cum from just my knot, understood?” Sasuke said darkly as his slick fingers began to circle Naruto’s twitching entrance.

Sasuke could see Naruto’s nod, but he wanted more.

He teasingly pressed the tip of his finger into Naruto, continuously dipping it in and out to drive the blonde mad.

It was just the start of stretching, but nowhere near deep enough for any kind of relief, so he pressed his hips back against Sasuke’s hand and let out a very omega like whine.

“I asked if you understood” Sasuke teased as his finger continued to take Naruto apart with ease.

“Yes” Naruto choked out as he hung his head, his muscles absolutely useless at this point.

“Good omega” Sasuke praised as he applied more pressure to his finger, allowing it to slip into the tight muscle.

“My perfect” Sasuke used a deep thrust of his finger as a comma before continuing, “gorgeous omega”.

A violent shudder wracked the entirety of Naruto’s body as a steady stream of moans followed the rhythm of Sasuke’s finger.

Sasuke smirked, letting the feeling of pride stroke his alpha ego at being able to draw such filthy sounds out of his innocent seeming boyfriend.

He worked a second finger alongside the first one and couldn’t suppress his groan at just how tight Naruto was.

It’s not like he had been confident in his stamina for this round to begin with, but now he was really worried that he’d cum the second that he slid inside of Naruto’s tight ass.

Sasuke figured that working Naruto up into a frenzy and getting him close before Sasuke was even inside of him was the best way to ensure that he didn’t embarrass himself.

As he continued to expertly work his fingers, he lowered his head to caress Naruto’s balls with his tongue, marveling at how he could literally feel the blonde’s cock twitch.

This new position had Sasuke searching for Naruto’s sweet spot for a little longer than normal, but he managed to find it after a particularly hard thrust of his long fingers.

Naruto cried out and lurched forward, the jolt of pleasure so intense that it was almost painful.

“Holy, FUCK! Sasuke please, I need your cock-“ Another ecstasy laced cry was pulled from Naruto as Sasuke worked in a third finger.

“Please, alpha! I can take it! I want you to fill me, please Sasuke” Naruto begged as he felt tears welling up in his eyes at the onslaught of intense pleasure.

He was babbling and barely coherent through his moans, and it was music to Sasuke’s ears.

Sasuke spread his fingers slightly to try and give Naruto a little more prep, but he was far from thorough.

He withdrew his fingers and haphazardly wiped them on his joggers before shoving them down his legs.

Naruto was still in a daze and breathing heavily as his legs looked a few seconds away from giving out.

The small part of Sasuke that was a bit of a sadist couldn’t help but get even more turned on at the thought of pushing Naruto just a bit further.

He wanted to ensure that Naruto couldn’t leave the bed if he wanted to for at least the next few hours.

Sasuke sat down on the bed, his eyes never leaving Naruto.

When the blonde finally turned around, his face flushed and his incredibly blue eyes hazy, Sasuke snapped.

“I want you to ride me” Sasuke groaned out as he registered just how red and hard his cock was, his knot already forming.

Naruto jumped up and hurried over to Sasuke, eagerly applying more lube to the head of Sasuke’s dick and spreading it down the rock hard shaft.

Sasuke’s eyes fluttered shut and he let out an uncharacteristically loud moan at the mind blowing friction.

If just Naruto’s hand felt this good, Sasuke was fucked.

Sasuke shifted himself back in the bed, more towards the head board as Naruto crawled up to straddle him, hovering just enough for him to position the head of Sasuke’s length to his opening.

Naruto sunk down on the entirety of his length in one motion, instantly sheathing Sasuke in an indescribably tight heat.

Naruto threw his head back and let out a choked moan as Sasuke shot up into a swirling position to wrap his arms around Naruto.

As soon as Naruto began moving, Sasuke’s eyes rolled back and a deep moan reverberated throughout his chest.

Sasuke looked down to see where they were connected and let a possessive growl escape him.

In the position he could actually see his cock making Naruto’s lower abdomen protrude. It pulled at a desire deep inside of Sasuke that the alpha still was unfamiliar with.

“Fuck, look at how well you take my cock. Look at what it does to you” Sasuke groaned out as he laced his fingers in unruly blonde locks and guided Naruto’s head to make him see what Sasuke was doing to him.

Naruto let out a true omega whine as he lowered himself into Sasuke’s cock once more and saw what the other alpha was referring to.

Sasuke felt goosebumps rising on Naruto’s skin and his inner alpha growled in satisfaction. 

“Yeah? You like being so full of me that you swell with my cock? Want to be full of me? With my pups?” Sasuke growled out as he thrust his hips up in time to meet Naruto’s perfectly.

Naruto practically screamed at Sasuke’s words and violently clutched at his alpha’s shoulders to move faster.

“God, yes! Please alpha! Plea- Oh fuck! There, there, right fucking there!” Naruto cried out as Sasuke hit his prostate dead on.

Sasuke laid back down and used his grip on Naruto to drag him down with him, keeping his arms around the blonde as he planted his feet in the bed to fuck up into him.

Sasuke’s hips set a brutal pace, but it had Naruto vision blurring.

Despite the rather feral fucking that was more than fufilling their physical desires, Sasuke still wanted Naruto to know that it was more than that.

Sasuke kissed at what he could reach of Naruto’s neck, stopping at his ear to gruffly whisper, “Tell me that you love me. Say it”.

Naruto’s brain was lagging so hard due to Sasuke literally fucking him stupid, but he was able to eventually process Sasuke’s words.

“I love you, so much Sasuke” Naruto cried out before bringing Sasuke into a deep kiss, swallowing Sasuke’s low moan.

The blonde pulled away to let out a frenzied moan when Sasuke’s hips started to stutter the slightest bit.

“Don’t stop, don’t fucking stop” Naruto said between sobs of pleasure.

_Oh, thank fuck!_

“You gonna cum for me? Take my knot? Fuck- I need to, need to knot. Yes! Fuck, fuck, fuck, Naruto!” Sasuke shouted as he felt his knot starting to reach its limit.

“Give it to me, Sasuke! I want you to knot me with your teeth in me” Naruto moaned out as he bared his neck.

Sasuke moved quicker than he would’ve ever thought possible to do what he’d been dying to do since the first time he’d ever had Naruto.

He managed to latch onto Naruto’s scent gland with a feral moan right before giving a deep thrust and tying them together.

Sasuke held Naruto to his chest tightly as the blonde screamed and came so hard that he actually went limp in Sasuke’s arms.

Sasuke continued to grind his knot deeply into Naruto’s prostate at he allowed an overwhelming wave of euphoria wash over him as his senses were taken over by him marking Naruto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me a little bit longer than expected, I reworked this chapter because I was worried that you guys were getting a little sick of so much heavy plot.  
> Hence why we have almost an entire chapter for a reprieve!  
> I didn’t hear back from a lot of you and kind of got in my head.
> 
> Anyways, I always appreciate hearing back from you guys and that you guys take the time to read<3
> 
> I’d love to know what you guys want to see or what you thought about the ever developing feels of these two idiots<3
> 
> I will be replying to comments on Chapter 11 later today, as I have run out of time at the moment, but I wanted to hurry and post the fluff filled smut fest of Chapter 12! 
> 
> I hope every is doing well and staying safe!<3


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did someone say more fluff and some karmic justice?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for the wait, but please accept a 10k chapter as a formal apology!
> 
> As always, thank you to Meehalla and Freakontour for all of your help!

Naruto’s brain was world’s past hazy and borderline vegetative.

He felt nothing yet everything all at once.

His limbs all felt heavy and fuzzy as a head spinning amount of endorphins coursed through him to solidify their bond.

Naruto had never done any drugs outside of smoking weed, but if the high was even a fraction of what he felt at that moment; he suddenly understood the appeal, because _fuck_.

Sasuke’s scent was already turning into something that wasn’t just around him, but forming to him as it began to mix with his own.

As far as Naruto was concerned, everything in their lives was perfect.

He knew that it wasn’t, far from it actually, but he couldn’t find it in him to give a single shit.

Every one of his senses was on Sasuke overload and he never wanted it to end.

He could feel Sasuke throbbing inside of him where they were still tied as said alpha absentmindedly ground his hips up into Naruto.

Sasuke was just as bad as Naruto, if not worse.

He felt fucking drunk with Naruto’s scent in his mouth, the most concentrated it’d ever been.

His teeth had yet to leave Naruto’s neck as Sasuke took in deep breaths through his nose.

He was in definite need of the oxygen, but he just wanted _more_.

More of Naruto, more of his scent. He just wanted all of Naruto.

Sasuke still felt like he was in the midst of his orgasm with the constant twitching of his cock inside of his mate after unloading into Naruto.

It was so euphoric that Sasuke didn’t want to make himself stop, he didn’t even know if he could stop.

He pulled his hips back as much as he could while they were still tied, mindful of not hurting the blonde.

The friction on his tied knot was mind blowing, unlike anything that Sasuke had ever felt before.

Sasuke let out an obscene groan, sending vibrations into the abused and sensitive nerves of Naruto’s scent gland from where his mouth was still attached to it.

Naruto gasped as he felt his spent dick twitch, shocked at how minute the pain of the oversensitivity was in comparison to the pleasure.

Naruto never wanted the high to end, and like the junkie he was, he started to lift his hips until he felt the tugging of Sasuke’s knot, only to sink back down to do it again.

Sasuke suddenly released the lock that his teeth had on Naruto to throw his head back with a deep gasp.

After Sasuke managed to get over his shock from Naruto’s actions, he looked at the blissed out expression adorning Naruto’s face as the alpha let out a string of incoherent curses.

Sasuke watched in awe as blonde brows began to furrow in pleasure as Naruto started getting hard again.

Sasuke brought his hand to the nape of Naruto’s neck and pulled the alpha forward for a deep, languid kiss consisting mostly of tongue.

They quickly fell into a rhythm as Sasuke brought his hands to the slight taper in Naruto’s strong waist.

He gripped Naruto’s tanned flesh and began to move the blonde alpha along the swollen ridges of his cock at a pace he knew that Naruto would never be able to match with his muscles so tired.

It wasn’t fast, fast probably would’ve been less of a strain; Sasuke was moving Naruto so slowly that he could feel every twitch of Naruto’s convulsing body on his sensitive knot.

Sasuke eagerly swallowed every high pitched moan and gasp that was pulled from Naruto as his body was overwhelmed in the best way imaginable.

When Sasuke thrust his hips deeply against Naruto, he felt his knot move along the sensitive bundle of nerves that it was nestled against.

“Oh, fuck!” Naruto gasped out as he rested his head on Sasuke’s broad shoulder.

Sasuke recognized the choked moans that Naruto started letting out against his chest, his breath fanning across Sasuke’s collarbones and sending shots of arousal throughout his body.

“You gonna cum for me again, love?” Sasuke groaned out as his hips thrust even deeper.

“Yes, holy shit! God yes, babe, please don’t stop, don’t stop” Naruto gasped out as he dug his nails into Sasuke’s shoulder and back where he clung to him.

“Cum for me” Sasuke whispered right before dipping his head down to lick over the fresh indentation of Sasuke’s teeth adorning Naruto’s scent gland.

Naruto let out a wail that almost sounded like he was in pain with the way every nerve in his body lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. 

His body went stiff as he got even tighter around Sasuke, pulling a loud moan from the alpha sheathed inside of him, as he came for a second time.

Sasuke felt like his eyes rolled to the back of his skull as he twitched inside of Naruto, releasing a fresh stream of cum.

When Naruto’s head cleared from the almost too intense orgasm, he registered that Sasuke was _still_ grinding up into him.

Naruto let out a breathy chuckle, finding it endearing how unhinged and insatiable Sasuke had suddenly become now that he had claimed Naruto.

Sasuke stilled his hips after Naruto let out a quiet whimper at the overstimulation, Sasuke picking up on it easily as he peppered gentle kisses against the fresh mark.

He was unable to take his attention away from it; he either was looking at it or giving it some form of attention.

Naruto was truly his now, and he would always be Naruto’s, and the thought didn’t scare him in the least, and it probably should have.

They’d only known each other for a short amount of time, actually been in a relationship for even less, and Sasuke had a bumpy road ahead of him.

He should be scared shitless about how effortlessly Naruto barged into his life and settled down, but he wasn’t.

He was so fucking happy.

Sasuke could tell that Naruto was drowsy from being marked and having come twice, so Sasuke wrapped him in his arms even tighter and maneuvered them so that they could lay down on their sides.

“How are you feeling?” Sasuke asked as he propped his head up on his elbow as his chest rested against Naruto’s back.

He began absentmindedly running his finger up and down Naruto’s side, knowing how much the other alpha loved any sort of physical affection.

Naruto let out a sleepy hum as he burrowed his head against his pillow, a pillow that now smelled strongly of Sasuke thanks to Sasuke’s nap this afternoon.

“Fucking phenominal” Naruto mumbled out.

The blonde let out a content sigh as he reached up to lightly run his own fingers over his new mark.

His eyes began to water as he felt the raised ridges left by Sasuke’s perfect teeth.

Naruto never imagined a life for himself with an alpha like Sasuke and kids that he considered his own, but Sasuke had given him his dream.

“Happy tears?” Sasuke quietly asked as he gently wiped them away.

Naruto laughed at how over the top he was being and nodded before Sasuke kissed him.

It was deep but held no real motive other than them being close and connected in every way.

Sasuke only pulled away when he felt his knot throb again, threatening to keep them tied for even longer, and they were both completely exhausted.

Naruto made a displeased whining sound when Sasuke laid down and nestled in close to the blonde alpha’s back.

“What?” Sasuke asked, amused by the childlike grumpiness.

Naruto just huffed when he realized that he wouldn’t be getting more kisses and grabbed Sasuke’s hand and threw it over his own chest so that he was being properly cuddled.

“Did you just huff at me?” Sasuke asked, more than amused at this point.

“I would never. Now cuddle me the right way, damnit!” Naruto huffed out as he shimmed himself backwards to be pressed as closely to Sasuke as possible.

Sasuke could only let out a chuckle at the adorable antics of his mate.

_How in the hell did I get here, and why do I love it so damn much?_

-

“You don’t have to flee. I promise that I won’t let her even make it to the elevator” Naruto said to Haku as the omega was finishing packing up some of Yakeru’s toys.

Today was Saturday, which meant that it was the first weekend of Sakura’s supervised visits.

They could’ve gotten a court appointed supervisor, but both Naruto and Sasuke weren’t all that comfortable with the idea of a stranger being the kids’ protection with Sakura.

In their minds, no one took better care of the kids than them, so they weren’t going to have a stranger so it just to avoid Sakura.

Sasuke was still at a meeting that was taking longer than planned, so it looked like Naruto would have to face the pink haired priss by himself for a while.

_How fun. Can’t fucking wait._

Haku was beyond uncomfortable with the idea of even being in the same building as Sakura, still wanting to keep his and his son’s existence a secret from Fugaku.

Sasuke’s building had this fancy indoor play area for kids to go to when their parent’s used the gym, and Sarada loved it, so it made sense to do it there. Short commute for Naruto.

Haku was almost on his way out. He was heading to Karin’s house, having sparked quite the connection with the other omega during her visits as of late.

Karin’s crassness paired shockingly well with Haku’s softness and they were well on their way to becoming good friends.

“I’m not taking any chances with the wicked witch of the west coast” Haku said as he gave an exaggerated shudder.

Naruto laughed, fully understanding.

If it weren’t for his overwhelming need to ensure Sarada and Ren’s safety, he’d be seeking shelter elsewhere too.

“Let me know if she sends in the flying monkeys!” Haku called out as a goodbye as he and Yakeru left. 

Naruto let out another chuckle before checking his phone.

He had ten minutes until Sakura would be down in the play area and he still hadn’t heard from Sasuke.

_Well, fuck._

“Sarada! Are you ready, baby girl?” Naruto called out as he went through his mental checklist for Ren’s diaper bag.

“No!” Sarada replied stubbornly from her room.

“Are you just saying that so you don’t have to go?” Naruto asked loudly as he made his way over to the stairs.

He fondly shook his head when no response came.

“If we don’t go, then we can’t go eat lunch with your dad after” Naruto said, raising the inflection of his voice at the end to excite her and draw her out.

He saw her poke her head out into the hallway, pouting when she realized that she’d been beat.

“I’m ready, but you have to take me on the big kid slide” she huffed out as she descended the stairs.

“I promise” Naruto said before bending down to kiss the top of her head.

He grabbed her tiny hand and slung Ren’s diaper bag over his shoulder.

All that was left was Ren himself, and they were out of the door and heading down to the second floor.

Naruto hadn’t expected to walk in and see Sakura already waiting for them.

He’d gotten there a little early so that he could make sure he was able to grab one of the tables, because it usually got really busy in the afternoon on weekends.

She was standing next to an open table while she rapidly tapped on her phone.

Naruto repressed his grimace as he approached her, the sound of her long acrylic nails against her phone already managing to get on his damn nerves.

When they were close enough for her to hear Ren’s babbling, she looked up to only see Naruto and not so subtly scrunched up her nose.

“Sakura” Naruto said plainly as he reluctantly handed his son over to the cold hearted wench.

He crossed his arms over his chest to try and physically restrain himself for reaching for Ren again, smirking when he started to cry the second that he was in her arms.

She paid the alpha no mind, like he wasn’t even there, and plastered on an exaggerated smile.

It just looked wrong on her.

A scowl was much more fitting.

“Are you excited to come and play with mommy?” She asked, her already shrill voice going even higher.

She had to be laying it on thick because her lawyer told her to. If Sarada didn’t like being with her, she knew that she had no chance in hell in winning.

The thing was, Sarada already had her mind made up, and she really didn’t like being with Sakura.

“Sakura” Sarada said, copying Naruto’s exact tone and expression, complete with crossed arms.

Naruto almost laughed right in Sakura’s shocked face.

_Holy shit, I love this kid!_

The blonde made a sad attempt to hide his laughter behind his hand while Sakura’s face screwed up into a scowl.

Sakura looked like she was about to try and bribe Sarada by letting her play with her phone, but then one of the little girls that Sarada sometimes played with walked in.

It made Naruto irrationally proud to see Sarada actually coming out of her shell a little more and making some friends.

Since he’d come into her life in a more official capacity, he’d noticed such a change in her.

“Where’s Sasuke?” Sakura spit out the second that Sarada ran off with her friend, being sure to give Naruto a hug first, but blatantly ignoring Sakura.

“Working” was Naruto’s clipped answer.

Sasuke had advised him to speak to her as little as possible, saying that if he gave her an inch, she’d run for a fucking mile.

He figured it was a benign enough question, since they had planned on him being here, so he didn’t see how answering honestly would cause any problems.

But of course, he’d been much too naive.

“Typical Sasuke” she sighed out, almost mocking Naruto in how she felt like she knew him better.

“I hope you weren’t expecting to actually see him. That man is always working late and leaves even earlier” she said with an air of superiority and mock sympathy.

Naruto bit his tongue.

He was so tempted to bring up how Sasuke normally was home, and even made it a point to surprise them by getting there early and cleaning the other night, but he just remained quiet.

Sasuke actually liked being home now that _she_ wasn’t there, but he refused to give her the satisfaction of getting a rise out of him.

“Yeah, okay Sakura” Naruto said indifferently.

“Fine, don’t take my word for it, but you’ll see” she said like she knew some huge secret.

Naruto just rolled his eyes and took out his phone, figuring that Karin would jump on the chance to talk shit about Sakura.

Naruto’s eyes would flick up from his phone every so often to track down Sarada and check up on Ren, but his sister’s colorful opinions about the pink haired omega were doing the trick in calming down his irritation.

After only a few minutes, Ren started to get restless in Sakura’s lap, but the omega was unwilling to do more than lazily bounce him with her leg.

She wasn’t interacting with him in any way, just tapping away at her phone again, not even checking on Sarada.

This is precisely why Naruto had agreed to come. Without him checking to make sure that Sarada was okay, she could’ve been snatched away and Sakura would be none the wiser.

He wasn’t happy about having to see Sakura, but at least he knew that his children were safe.

It pained Naruto not to just let Ren come over to him like the infant clearly wanted.

He had started leaning over Sakura’s arm and reaching for the blonde alpha’s arm.

He hated having to ignore it, but he didn’t want to do anything that made it seem like he was the reason why Sakura wasn’t spending time with the kids during these visits.

Sakura let out an irritated huff when Ren lunged himself towards Naruto, forcing her to set her damn phone down and grab him with both hands. 

Ren managed to finally get a hold on Naruto, gripping onto the collar of his t-shirt and giving it a tug as Sakura pulled him back towards her.

Naruto didn’t think twice about it, he was always being pulled at by Ren, but he heard Sakura’s jaw clamp shut with how fiercely she was grinding her teeth.

His hand instantly shot up to where his neck met his strong shoulder, like it would somehow erase Sakura’s memory.

There was no way in hell that she hadn’t seen his mark.

It was only a few days old, so it was still somewhat red and contrasted wildly against Naruto’s tanned skin.

Naruto watched as Sakura’s face twisted into a mischievous smirk.

“Looks like we have something in common” she said smugly as she pulled at the collar of her own shirt to reveal a mark that was barely even there anymore.

_Pathetic._

It was clear that Sasuke really hadn’t cared much for Sakura at all; with her mark being so incredibly faded in such a short time, there had to be little to no connection between them.

It was laughable that she thought that her mark was anything close to his.

He knew that his meant so much more.

“Doesn’t look like it to me” Naruto snapped out, unable to control the petty remark.

He felt a possessiveness towards Sasuke, and it was being ‘challenged’ by this bitch trying to claim that she actually held a piece of Sasuke’s heart.

Sakura practically lit up at the chance to bicker, finally seeing a crack in Naruto’s collected exterior.

“What? You think that you're actually something special to him?” She laughed out.

“I gave that man two children and look at what he did to me. I was pushed off to the side as soon as he smelled something that he liked” she said with a venomous cruelty.

Naruto remained strong, but her words were doing what she hoped.

They were slithering their way up into his head and setting up camp.

His eyebrows pinched in irritation, but the small tell didn’t pass by Sakura’s analytical eyes unnoticed.

She was studying him, and she knew right away that she’d found a sore spot, a sore spot that she could exploit.

“I mean, you’re an alpha, so it isn’t like that mark really means anything. It can never be as strong as a bond between an alpha and their omega” she said casually, like she wasn’t going directly into Naruto’s head and exposing all of his greatest insecurities.

“I’m tied to him for life because of our children. What ties you to him other than a one sided bonding mark?” She sneered.

Naruto’s jaw clenched so hard that it ached.

He wanted to rub it in her face so badly, but he just took every verbal hit to the chin.

The blows kept getting stronger and stronger though, each one getting closer and closer to the ringer.

“I mean really, Naruto. What could you possibly give him that I couldn’t? It’s not like you could ever give him a child to continue his name” she finished with a rueful sigh like she was the one that statement hurt.

If words could hit, that would’ve been the knockout punch.

Naruto felt the air leave his lungs with the blow that those words had.

Naruto knew them to be true.

He really couldn’t ever give Sasuke a child, and that was a tie that he would have to Sakura forever that Naruto could never replicate.

Sure, Sasuke saw Naruto as the kids’ mother, but he wasn’t.

Even if they managed to pull all of Sakura’s parental rights one day, she’d still be able to say that they were half of her and half of Sasuke. Nothing that Naruto could ever say or do would change that painful fact.

With Naruto’s mind racing and his insecurities being played with, he hadn’t noticed Sasuke entering the play area.

All he felt was a coldness spreading throughout his body, numbing all of the warmth that Sasuke had worked so damn hard to put there.

“Sorry I’m late” Sasuke said as he reached the table.

He was in the process of rolling up his sleeves to his forearms when he leaned down to place a gentle kiss onto Naruto’s startled lips.

It was like Sasuke’s kiss put that damn coldness in a headlock to make it stop, working to replace it with that unyielding adoration that Naruto was beginning to get familiar with.

Sakura’s words still replayed in his head, but Sasuke’s presence dulled them to a barely audible whisper.

Naruto heard Sakura gasp and looked at Sasuke, quickly seeing why.

Sasuke must’ve left the suit jacket and the tie that he’d been wearing this morning in his car, because his button up shirt was opened more at the top than usual and the collar was deliberately arranged so that Sasuke’s almost healed mark was on display.

Naruto damn near preened when he realized that Sasuke purposely made Naruto’s claiming mark visible.

Sasuke was never one for the casual business attire look, it was always immaculately put together, or jeans and a t-shirt. It wasn’t even hot out, so Naruto knew that he’d done it on purpose.

He was not ashamed to show Sakura, or anyone, that he had wholly and completely given himself to Naruto.

It made Naruto feel so loved, but at that moment, his smugness outweighed that tender feeling.

Sakura was trying to act as if she hadn’t seen it, but she definitely had.

Sasuke smirked at her as he adjusted the collar on his shirt and actually fucking winked at her.

It was so unlike Sasuke, but if Naruto couldn’t be the one to rub it in her face, he was glad that Sasuke got the honor.

Her face started to match her hair as she tried to hold in her boiling rage.

She’d asked to mark him for years, but he’d always refused, then he goes and starts dating Naruto and within a few months he’s allowed to mark Sasuke!?

She could tell from how healed it was that Naruto had gotten to mark Sasuke first.

That self righteousness that came from having a silver spoon stuck in her mouth her entire life was trying to make its way to the surface.

She held her tongue, figuring that if she couldn’t have Sasuke, that she would make it damn near impossible for Naruto to enjoy having him.

Her plan was to be the perfect mother to ensure that she got custody of the kids and won her case against Sasuke’s prenup. Sasuke’s petty stunt gave her everything that her twisted little mind needed.

“Not a problem, I was just having a little chat with Naruto” Sakura said with a psychopathically convincing smile. 

Sasuke raised a brow and looked at Naruto who simply nodded, not wanting to give Sasuke any reason to bite the bitch’s head off in front of the kids.

Before Sasuke could question Naruto about his unconvincing response, Sarada came up and began pulling on Naruto’s wrist.

“Will you come play with us? Please!” She asked as she bounced up and down in front of the blonde.

All of Sakura’s bullshit floated away at the sight of Sarada’s excited smile.

“Alright, alright, but take it easy on me” Naruto said as he hoisted himself up.

With his mark still being so fresh, the negative effects of a one sided bond were still lingering and rearing their ugly head.

Naruto felt mostly okay, but when he’d called Tsunade, she told him that it could take at least a week for everything to settle and start to reach a more baseline level.

“C’mon, Naru! I wanna show you how high I can get on the swings!” Sarada squealed as she dragged Naruto off towards the swing set.

Sasuke stared off at them with what could only be described as a love struck smile on his face.

Sarada loved Naruto so much, and Naruto would do anything for his little girl.

It pulled at a part of his inner alpha that had never been stimulated by Sakura before.

The tender moment was rudely shattered when Sasuke heard Sakura scoff.

“Oh please, you can drop the lovey dovey act, Sasuke. I was married to you, I know how you really are” she said with a roll of her eyes and a flourish of her perfectly manicured hand.

Sasuke just glared at her and wondered how the hell he had managed to actually be married to her for as long as he had been.

“You don’t know a damn thing about me, Sakura” Sasuke bit out as he snatched Ren out of her arms.

His son instantly lit up and began bouncing excitedly in his arms.

Sasuke was tempted to stick his tongue out at Sakura as a way of saying ‘In your face’ but refrained.

Naruto’s sometimes juvenile antics were starting to rub off on him, but he had the whole cold hearted bastard persona to uphold.

Sasuke said hello to his son and kissed his fat little cheek before handing him back to Sakura.

The two of them just sat in silence while Sakura gossiped on her phone and Sasuke watched Naruto push Sarada on the swings with an irresponsible amount of force.

He chuckled to himself at how Naruto was pulled right into her game of seeing just how high she could get on the swings.

That is how things went for a while until Naruto began walking back to the table as Sakura was feeding Ren some of his cereal snacks.

“Still not feeling well?” Sasuke asked, trying his best to hide his concern when Naruto sat down and took in some deep breaths.

“Yeah, just got a little light headed. That kid had me climbing through tunnels meant to fit children for thirty minutes” Naruto said with an out breath laugh.

Sasuke eased back in his seat, figuring that Naruto’s reasoning was solid, but still worried.

No matter how much Naruto tried to downplay his headaches and general fatigue, Sasuke saw right through it.

He was concerned that maybe Naruto’s inner alpha was rejecting his bond mark, since he didn’t seem to be getting any better.

“Alright” Sasuke said skeptically as he absentmindedly slid closer to the blonde and laced their fingers together.

Naruto squeezed Sasuke’s large hand in his and flashed him a goofy smile as he caught his breath.

It didn’t take Naruto long to calm down, and he was listening to Sasuke tell him about his meeting when they heard a loud thud and a shriek.

“MOMMY!” Sarada cried out from somewhere over by the slide.

Sakura quickly handed Ren over to Sasuke and made to catch up to Naruto.

He’d been out of his seat the second he’d heard the thud from her general direction. He was always on top of things and very in tune with the kids, just one of the many reasons why he beat out Sakura in the mothering department.

Sasuke rounded the play structure in time to see both Naruto and Sakura kneeling down to look at the scraped knee that Sarada was cradling against her chest as she cried.

“I said I wanted my mommy!” She cried out as she shook off Sakura’s hands that were trying to pry Sarada’s off of her knee.

Sakura looked taken aback, shocked at how Sarada curled up right into Naruto’s arms without hesitation, crying into his shoulder as he rubbed her back and told her that it’d all be okay.

The pink haired omega continued to stand there with her jaw slack as she watched Naruto so effortlessly calm down the formerly hysteric child. 

The way that he mothered her child infuriated her.

She began to grind her teeth, but when she looked over to see Sasuke smirking at her, she really thought that she’d lose it.

“Shut up” she growled out as she took Ren from his arms and stomped her way back over to where she’d left her Birkin.

-

Sasuke sat up with start, having rolled over and not felt a warm, solid body next to him for the first time in what felt like months.

He rubbed at his eyes, waiting for them to focus so that he could look at the time on his phone.

He grabbed his phone off of the nightstand and watched as the numbers slowly became less and less blurred.

It was almost two thirty in the morning, and Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

Sasuke always felt a nagging feeling whenever he wasn’t with Naruto, but not being with him when he was supposed to be, put him on edge.

He shook his head to try and force his brain to wake the hell up so that he could stand up and search for his mate.

He threw off the warm duvet and looked into the open door of his connected bathroom.

The light was off and Naruto’s scent wasn’t particularly strong from inside, so he didn’t even bother turning on the light for a more thorough inspection.

He made his way out into the living room, immediately hit with Naruto’s scent and the smell of ramen.

Naruto was curled up on the couch eating one of his instant ramens that Sasuke detested, just staring at the glowing screen of the large television.

Sasuke tilted his head and leaned against the frame of his bedroom doorway as he just watched Naruto for a moment, figuring out if he had just been hungry or was upset.

Sasuke had asked the other alpha how things went with Sakura a few times since they’d gotten home, picking up on Naruto’s gloominess, but each time Naruto would just say it went fine.

Sasuke knew his soon to be ex wife better than that though; he just knew that she had to have said something to Naruto to cause his strange mood.

He’d been lost in his thoughts all night and was being uncharacteristically quiet.

Upon hearing a familiar sniffling sound, Sasuke decided that Naruto was out here for reasons other than food.

All traces of grogginess vanished as Sasuke made his way over to the couch.

After reaching the bundle of blankets that housed a bundled up Naruto, Sasuke noticed the three empty cups of ramen littering the surface of the coffee table.

“Do you have a tapeworm or something?” Sasuke asked, his voice gravely with sleep.

Naruto looked up at him and let out an amused huff and gave Sasuke a small smile as he tucked in his feet to make room for the Uchiha.

Sasuke could see the beautiful shade of blue of Naruto’s eyes was amplified because of the contrast from how red they were. That’s what made Sasuke take notice of the fact that they were somewhat puffy, too.

Sasuke felt a pang in his chest.

“What happened?” He asked as he sat down and brought Naruto’s feet to rest on his thighs.

“Nothing, it’s dumb. I just couldn’t sleep and wanted some comfort food” Naruto said.

“If it’s bothering you than it isn’t-“ Sasuke started, before Naruto cut him off with a tired chuckle.

“I know, I know. But this time it is. There isn’t anything I can ever do about it, so it is dumb to cry about it” Naruto said as he rubbed at his irritated eyes.

“Did you want to tell me about it?” Sasuke asked as he gave a reassuring squeeze to the blonde’s ankle.

“Not particularly” Naruto answered honestly.

He’d just managed to stop blubbering, and talking about it might just make him start up again.

“Will you, though?” Sasuke asked as he settled back against the couch and began rubbing Naruto’s leg in a comforting manner.

“Will you take no for an answer?” Naruto asked right back, already knowing the answer.

“Not easily” Sasuke said with a gentle smirk.

Naruto just sighed and sat up, hugging his knees to his chest with his chin resting on top of them.

“Your ex is a bitch” Naruto said bluntly.

Although it was a very accurate statement, Sasuke hadn’t expected it.

Sasuke let out a quiet laugh.

“No arguments there” Sasuke said as he raised his brows to prompt Naruto to continue.

Naruto sighed and pulled the blankets tighter around himself.

“She just said some things that got in my head. I know that’s what she was trying to do, but I can’t help that they’re getting to me” Naruto explained.

“Like?” Sasuke encouraged.

“Like pointing out that she will always be connected to you because of the kids and how I can never give you any” Naruto grumbled out.

Sasuke felt his jaw clench.

He’d had his suspicions about Naruto’s desire to have a child, he’d always just waited for Naruto to be the one to bring it up, but to have Sakura take advantage of it had him livid. Especially with seeing Naruto so hurt about it.

“I refuse to be connected to that woman, as do the children” Sasuke said firmly.

“It’s not like you have much of a choice in the matter” Naruto said, overcome with sadness as his eyes began to burn again.

“Sarada and Ren will always be one part you, one part her. No matter who they call mom, that’s just how it is” Naruto whimpered out, like the fact physically hurt him.

Sasuke willed his anger at Sakura to go down as he slid closer to Naruto.

“Yeah, you’re right, but that is only on a physical level. Those kids, _our_ kids, will have your chattiness, your kindness, your mannerisms, all of your weird little habits. They’ll pick up on all of it because it’s all they’ll see. They’ll be just as much you as they are me” Sasuke said sincerely as he rested his forehead against Naruto’s.

Naruto couldn’t hold in his sobs even if he had the energy to try.

Sasuke’s words were exactly what he needed to hear, but it still couldn’t fix Naruto’s longing.

“But I’ll never be able to give you a child! I’ll never be able to carry one of my own. I love those kids so damn much, and I feel as though they’re ours, but I can’t help wanting to have one that is truly ours” Naruto choked out.

Sasuke didn’t know what to do.

The crack of emotion in Naruto’s voice broke his heart clean in two.

“I feel so shitty that they aren’t enough to fix that empty feeling, because they’re everything that I could’ve ever wanted and more, but I can’t help it!” Naruto cried out in frustration.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto and held the blonde as his shoulders shook from his crying.

There really was nothing that he could do.

He understood Naruto’s longing, to an extent.

There had been countless times that he’d wanted nothing more than to speak to his brother again, but no amount of money, wishing, or help from anyone could ever make it a possibility.

Just because something was impossible, didn’t make it any easier to accept.

Sasuke felt sympathy for knowing that Naruto felt the same way.

“You can’t help how you feel” Sasuke whispered, his voice strained because of how helpless he felt.

He wanted nothing more than to fix every problem that Naruto might have, but this one was out of his hands entirely.

“But I can’t ever give you what you want” Naruto whimpered out quietly.

Sasuke tensed up for a moment, worried that he’d somehow given Naruto the idea that he wouldn’t truly be happy with him unless he could do the impossible.

It hurt him to think that he was partially to blame for Naruto’s pain.

“I’m so happy with what we do have, Naruto. There are few things in this world that I can honestly say have brought me happiness, and you’re one of them” Sasuke said earnestly as he clutched onto Naruto’s wrist.

Sasuke wished that there was some way for him to drill it into that ridiculously blonde head. Naruto was the reason behind everything good in Sasuke’s life and he didn’t know how to convey that.

“What about all of the things you’ve said?” Naruto asked through ragged breaths as he tried to calm down.

Sasuke wracked his brain for any recollection of him saying anything along the lines of ‘I’ll only be happy if we have a baby’, but he couldn’t find a single instance.

“What have I said, love?” Sasuke asked gently.

He genuinely wanted to know.

Sasuke knew that he was an asshole, and he’d been reading books on emotional maturity and communication. 

During his research he’d found out that you don’t always have to outright say something for someone to take an unintended meaning from it.

He wanted to know if he’d said anything like that to his mate, because he would be willing to do whatever it took to fix it.

Naruto took a few breaths to collect himself.

He was angry at himself for being so weepy as of late, especially since he should be happier than ever.

He felt like his insecurities about his secondary gender were robbing him of happiness, happiness that he more than deserved.

“In bed. You’ve mentioned getting me pregnant and seemed to really like the idea. I-I just can’t ever give you that, Sasuke. No matter how badly I want to. I’m sorry, but I just can’t” Naruto answered with a shaky breath.

He was so drained, so tired of wishing for what could never be.

Sasuke closed his eyes out of irritation at himself.

He’d been so caught up in the lust fueled madness that Naruto always drove him to when he’d said it, but he could remember saying things like that, now.

He’d gotten reckless with Naruto’s suspected feelings for the sake of getting off and it made him feel like complete shit.

“I’m the one that is sorry” Sasuke said, voice thick with hurt at thinking that he might’ve failed Naruto in any way.

“A part of me would love that, more than anything, but mostly for your sake. I’d love to give you everything you want, and to be able to claim you like that” Sasuke started to explain.

He felt like there was no way to really fix his mistake.

He would love to see Naruto pregnant with his child. He was an alpha, and he could only ignore his instincts so much.

Sasuke wanted it, but he wanted Naruto more. He always would.

“I could never be unsatisfied with you. I understand that does very little to change your own desire, but just know that you will always be more than enough for me as you are” Sasuke said as he held Naruto’s chin up, forcing the other alpha to look him in the eye.

“Before you, I’ve said this to only five people in my entire life; I love you” Sasuke said with an unwavering amount of certainty.

Naruto’s bottom lip began to slightly quiver as Sasuke held his gaze.

Naruto’s sad expression softened and formed one that was somewhere between awe and joy.

Sasuke knew that he’d do anything to make Naruto happy.

Hell, he’d even thought about one day asking Karin to be a surrogate for them.

Naruto’s comments about loving having a full house were anything but subtle, and Sasuke found himself thinking of ways to make it happen.

He’d never thought he’d have a big family, but with Naruto by his side, he didn’t mind the idea at all. Plus, the thought of a blue eyed, dark haired baby crawling around warmed his cold heart.

Sasuke knew that it wouldn’t fully be what Naruto dreamed of, but it would be as close as possible, genetically speaking.

“I love you, and I’ll give you whatever you want. We’ll go put in the paperwork to adopt thirty babies tomorrow if you want” Sasuke said hyperbolically, kind of.

Naruto let out a teary chuckle as he leaned forward to wrap his arms around Sasuke’s waist and buried his face in the firm muscles of his stomach.

“Careful, you might have to trade in your Range Rover for a minivan if you keep talking like that” Naruto said.

Sasuke felt the tension leaving his body as Naruto cuddled into him.

“Over my dead body” Sasuke chuckled out as he began running his fingers through Naruto’s sleep ruffled hair.

They sat in silence for a while, Sasuke just soothing Naruto, but then Naruto suddenly spoke up.

“Thank you” he whispered.

“For what?” Sasuke asked.

All he’d done was assure Naruto that he was loved, because his words had unknowingly hurt him.

“For not viewing me as strange” Naruto answered.

“You are strange, but not for the things you want” Sasuke teased as he placed a kiss to Naruto’s unruly hair.

Naruto’s head shot up and he gave Sasuke a disgruntled looking pout that just made Sasuke smirk.

“You’re a real bastard, you know that?” Naruto said with a smile forcing its way onto his face. 

Sasuke just shrugged as his smirk continued to grow wider.

“Yet you love me anyway” Sasuke deadpanned.

“Not willingly” Naruto said with an eye roll before pressing his lips to Sasuke’s.

These were some of Sasuke’s favorite kisses; ones that held no real purpose other than being close to Naruto.

He could vaguely taste the ramen on the blonde alpha’s lips, but he didn’t mind so long as he got to feel Naruto against him.

When they pulled away, Sasuke asked if Naruto wanted to stay out here for a bit, and the blonde nodded.

They’d gotten comfy, with Naruto laying on his side, pressed up against Sasuke with his leg slung over the Uchiha’s.

They sat in peaceful silence as Sasuke ran his fingers up and down Naruto’s arm, but when he reached lower to rub his waist, his fingers hit a knitted fabric that was different from all the other blankets.

He pulled at the small blanket and was surprised to see that it was Ren’s favorite blanket.

“You found it?” Sasuke asked as he pulled it up from under Naruto’s arm.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, I suddenly remembered that it was in the stroller and grabbed it because it smells like him. I didn’t want to wake him up for baby cuddles, so it was the next best thing” Naruto said.

Sasuke smiled at the fact that Naruto truly did love the kids.

“He doesn’t have a scent yet” Sasuke said, amused by his mate.

“Yes he does! Not like an alpha or omega scent, but he still kind of has that baby smell” Naruto said enthusiastically.

“Baby smell?” Sasuke asked with a skeptical smile.

Naruto just looked at Sasuke like he was crazy for not knowing what the hell he was talking about.

“Yeah? You’ve had two babies and don’t know what I’m talking about?” Naruto asked incredulously.

Sasuke just shook his head with a chuckle.

“Babies just have this smell! It’s- it’s like- it’s just a baby smell okay?” Naruto said, getting flustered at how difficult it was to describe.

When Sasuke continued to just smirk at him, he snatched the blanket out of his hand and shoved it in Sasuke’s face.

“See? Babies just have this soft smell that makes you want to cuddle them all the time” Naruto said.

Sasuke was taken aback at having something shoved into his face so suddenly, but he took a deep inhale to appease Naruto.

When Naruto moved the blanket, he just looked at Sasuke with an expectant look.

“I guess?” Sasuke said unconvincingly.

Naruto’s scent had taken over the blanket from him laying with it, but if he really thought about it, he guessed that it had a ‘baby smell’ to it. It was just hard to pick u-

Sasuke took the blanket back quickly and sniffed at it in a frenzy.

“I told you” Naruto said smugly.

“That scent, why is it on Ren’s blanket?” Sasuke asked curtly.

“What scent, Sasuke?” Naruto asked, getting uneasy at Sasuke’s sudden shift in demeanor.

“It’s like seaweed or something. Why is it on here?” Sasuke asked, his inner alpha growing frantic as he recognized the very distinct smell.

Hearing that description brought Naruto back to Thursday, when that strange alpha had picked up Ren’s blanket after it fell.

It was an accurate description, similar to what Naruto had thought, so it wasn’t hard to figure out what Sasuke was referring to.

“Ren’s blanket fell out of his stroller after his doctor’s appointment and some alpha came up to me after he found it. I thought he smelled like the ocean, too” Naruto explained.

“Was he really big? Had dark blue hair and face tattoos?” Sasuke rushed out.

Naruto nodded in shock, not expecting such an accurate description of the eccentric looking man.

“After he gave me back Ren’s blanket, I realized that I saw him that morning while I was driving, too” Naruto said uneasily.

He didn’t like the ominous feeling of goosebumps rising on his skin.

“Sasuke, who is he?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke’s jaw was clenched and he was very clearly on edge. Naruto figured that the blue haired man probably wasn’t a friend.

“That would be Kisame”.

-

Sasuke was not so patiently waiting for Naruto to head down to the parking garage to leave for work.

After their conversation from Saturday night, he didn’t want to worry the already anxious blonde, so he’d simply promised Naruto that he would handle the situation with Kisame.

He spared Naruto the details, because he honestly didn’t have any yet. With a man like Kisame, he truly had no idea which way things would go.

Sasuke rescheduled all of his meetings and phone calls for the morning today, delegating what he could to Shikamaru.

He’d left for work at his normal time, but he circled back around and parked off to the corner where he still had a view of Naruto’s SUV.

He’d been waiting in his car for almost thirty minutes when he heard the unmistakable sound of his mate’s laugh echoing throughout the parking structure.

Sasuke perked up and couldn’t help but smile at how effortless Naruto’s love for his children was.

It was clear as day, even from across a parking garage, by the way that he looked at them, that he was just meant to be their mother.

He watched as Naruto loaded the kids into his car and backed out of his space.

Sasuke’s eyes darted around for any signs of movement anywhere, and not but two seconds after Naruto had exited the parking garage, a black Beamer was turned on in the row behind Naruto’s spot.

Sasuke hadn’t turned off his car, so he quickly threw it into drive and maneuvered through the rows at a reckless speed.

He managed to pull up behind the car right as it was starting to back out.

The driver of said sedan had to slam on the brakes to avoid crashing into the driver’s side of Sasuke’s car.

Sasuke watched through the dark tint of his window as the other driver rolled down his window and began yelling at Sasuke to ‘watch where the fuck he was going’.

He instantly recognized Kisame.

Now that Sasuke’s suspicions were confirmed, he rolled his own window down.

“I’m sure you already know this, but he’ll be at work until six thirty. You can resume your stalking after we have a word” Sasuke said with a tone that demanded compliance.

Kisame was shocked to see Sasuke, but when all Sasuke did was raise his brow, Kisame sighed and put the car that he was driving into park.

When Sasuke made no indication that he’d be moving his car anytime soon, Kisame got out.

“Keys” was all Sasuke said as he held his hand out of the window.

Kisame eyed him skeptically, but respected Sasuke’s intelligence.

He wanted to make sure that Kisame couldn’t go anywhere before he moved his car.

_Distrustful. Smart man, he would’ve done well working for his old man._

Once Kisame’s keys were in his hand, Sasuke parked in the space Naruto had just pulled out of.

Sasuke didn’t even look back to ensure that Kisame was following him, knowing that he would be, as he made the journey up to his apartment.

When the door to his home was closed, Sasuke finally turned to look at Kisame.

“You’d do well to not mention this to my father” Sasuke said bluntly.

Seeing as how he doubted that he’d be offered a seat, Kisame opted to lean his back up against the door.

“Makes sense” Kisame said with an understanding nod.

As if he’d tell Fugaku that he managed to be caught, though in his defense, Fugaku did tell him to not stay entirely hidden.

He wasn’t given any orders to directly interact with Naruto, but Fugaku did seem to want Naruto to notice Kisame popping up at a lot of the places that he went to.

Kisame knew how Fugaku’s mind worked after working for him for so many years, and he knew that Fugaku’s goal at the moment was to just unsettle the pretty blonde, maybe scare him a little.

“You can relax. I was actually hoping to speak with you, it was just proving to be difficult without my father finding out” Sasuke said as he gestured to his dining room table.

With any luck, this would be a long conversation.

“And why is daddy dearest being kept out of the loop?” Kisame said with a smirk as he took a seat at the table.

“Could have something to do with the fact that he is an insufferable prick, could also be because he is the reason why my brother is dead” Sasuke said casually as he also took a seat.

Sasuke leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked across the table at Kisame.

He visibly tensed at the mention of Itachi’s death, but he was used to making enemies. He did it for a living, so he quickly composed himself.

He shook his head and let out a deep chuckle.

“I thought I picked up on that sugary sweet scent” Kisame said as he leaned back as well.

Sasuke was much better at keeping his emotions in check than Kisame, so he gave the brute of an alpha no indication that his words caused him to worry, even if they did.

“I will tell you this now to avoid any unnecessary headaches for the both of us. You will be keeping Haku’s presence to yourself. There are things in place that would make it unwise for you to tell anyone, understood?” Sasuke said calmly.

Kisame had to give it to the kid, he was impressed.

Sasuke really had the whole scary psychopath thing down that had made his father so wealthy. He really didn’t think Sasuke ever had it in him to be so similar to Fugaku.

“And what might those things be?” Kisame asked as he leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table.

“Kakashi Hatake” was Sasuke’s simple answer.

Anyone who worked for his father, knew who Kakashi was, and they all knew that he wasn’t to be taken lightly.

Kakashi was the only person that’d ever been able to come close to arresting Fugaku, key word being close.

Kisame’s entire demeanor changed.

He was no longer feigning nonchalance, his well trained guard was fully up.

He stood up and motioned for Sasuke to do the same.

When Sasuke complied, Kisame approached him and lifted his arms, running his hands clinically along them and his sides, then doing the same to Sasuke’s legs.

Kisame moved Sasuke’s head to each side to see if he had a device of any kind in his ears, but found none.

He still looked hesitant after his check, so Sasuke lifted up the bottom of his shirt with a bored expression to show him that he truly had no listening devices anywhere on him.

Kisame still looked skeptical, but sat back down.

Sasuke noticed him eying their surroundings and sighed.

“I can assure you that my house isn’t bugged, but even if it was, we aren’t interested in your colorful rap sheet” Sasuke said as he remained standing.

“Then why the hell do you want to talk to me? You gotta know that I’m not gonna be much help to Kakashi” Kisame asked, his well trained act long gone, seemingly back to his crass self.

Kakashi’s jurisdiction fell under more white collar crimes, and Kisame had almost nothing to do with that aspect of Fugaku’s ‘business’.

“My mother is going to get all of his financial records and will be handing them over to Kakashi” Sasuke answered.

Kisame’s eyes went wide for a moment.

He’d known Mikoto for a long time, and if ever there was anyone that he thought would betray Fugaku, she was definitely not even on the list.

“Bullshit” Kisame said.

“Seems you know her well, but she knows about Itachi. You should know that she would do anything, including handing over my father's life sentences with a bow, if it meant getting him justice” Sasuke bit out, finally allowing himself to show a sliver of emotion.

Kisame thought back to how cold Mikoto had been with him the last few times that she visited the office, and it suddenly made sense.

She’d always been so kind and nurturing to him, like the mother that he never had. It hurt him deeply, but he understood why she would treat him that way after finding out.

Kisame solemnly nodded to show that he was buying it, and for Sasuke to continue.

“The best way for her to get an opportunity to get those records is for my father to be occupied in jail for an unrelated charge. Itachi’s” Sasuke continued.

“And that’s why Haku is back” Kisame said more than he asked.

Sasuke was honestly impressed with the way that Kisame was putting everything together, maybe he wasn’t as stupid as Sasuke had always thought.

Street smarts have to count for something, right?

Sasuke nodded before continuing, “His word alone won’t be enough, so why not have the trigger man himself step up to the plate” Sasuke sneered.

What little of Kisame’s defenses that were still standing crumbled.

He sighed and genuinely looked remorseful.

It only irritated Sasuke further.

“I didn’t kill Itachi” he said firmly.

“But did you stop it!? Did you do anything to stop the death of your best friend!? My fucking brother!?” Sasuke shouted, his anger reaching its limits.

“I couldn’t! Your dad would’ve had me killed if we didn’t follow orders!” Kisame shot back.

“His orders were to kill a pregnant omega just because he had enough respect for himself to not be my father’s doormat!” Sasuke bit out.

It disgusted him beyond words.

Wasn’t there supposed to be honor amongst thieves or some shit?

Where was there any honor in that?

“I get it, Sasuke, but it was either I die for saying no and he just sends someone else to do it, or I fucking do it” Kisame said, sounding defeated as he threw his back against his chair.

Sasuke forced himself to contain his rage and analyzed Kisame’s words.

They made sense, and Sasuke reminded himself of the times that he’d said that he wanted his father for Itachi’s death, not Kisame.

Keeping his emotions in check was much more difficult than he had anticipated now that he was face to face with someone directly involved.

“So then you didn’t kill Itachi. Who did? What the fuck even happened?” Sasuke forced his voice to remain level.

Haku’s recountings only offered a portion of what actually happened, and Sasuke wanted the rest.

He knew that screaming at Kisame wasn’t the way to get it, and it definitely wasn’t the way to get him to agree to put himself in danger in order to help them.

“Hidan did it. I was trying to get them to just stop it, told them I’d figure something out, but they know your dad too well” Kisame sighed out as he stared out of the window behind Sasuke.

“After Haku ran off, Kakuzu told Hidan to go after him, but Itachi managed to ask me to please make sure he and their baby were okay without them hearing” Kisame said as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“I had been blocking most of their hits to Itachi to try and talk our way out of it, but I knew they’d find Haku, so I had to leave him” he continued with a deep breath, willing his eyes to stay dry.

“I caught up to Haku as he was getting in his car. I was gonna tell him to move and never come back, but I heard him talking to someone on the phone. He was talking about how he couldn’t explain right now, but that he just needed to leave and get far away. He asked if he could stay with whoever it was so that they’d be safe. I just let him go and kept an eye on his apartment for a few weeks after to make sure he didn’t come back” Kisame finished, sounding strained.

“So it was all for nothing? You just suddenly acquired morals and let Haku go?” Sasuke grit out.

He wasn’t upset that Kisame had spared Haku, quite the opposite, but he was trying to hold on to the rapidly depleeting hatred that he had for Kisame.

“I didn’t want to have to do any of it, Sasuke. I saw the opening for Haku to get away and the chance for me to honor my best friend’s dying wish, so I did it. Without Itachi tying him back to this city, I thought it’d be safe to let him go” Kisame replied.

Sasuke searched Kisame’s face for any sign of deception, but saw none and it irritated him that he really wasn’t seeming like a complete piece of shit.

“I told Hidan and Kakuzu that I handled it, and your dad never asks questions. As far as they know, Haku is dead” Kisame bit out, ashamed of his actions.

“Well, he isn’t, and if he does this, he is putting himself and his son in danger. The case can’t be secure enough for there to be a protective detail on him until you agree to testify” Sasuke said, not missing the slight pull at the corner of Kisame’s mouth from hearing that Haku had a son.

He found himself wondering what happened to Haku, a lot. His guilty conscience wanted to know if he ever wound up being okay. If he had a son or a daughter. If they looked like Itachi or not.

It always weighed heavily on him.

It was his biggest regret, and that was saying something because he had _a lot_ of regrets.

Kisame only sighed and ran one of his large, calloused hands through his dark blue hair, weighing his options against his already heavy conscience.

“He’s being arrested either way. This just gets us a convenient and safe opening for my mother, but either way, it will happen. This way, you are offered protection and a get out of jail free card” Sasuke stated.

He was not above embellishing the truth a little bit.

His mother said that she would only get Fugaku’s records if he was arrested for his hand in Itachi’s death, but Kisame didn’t need to know that.

So long as Sasuke played his cards right, everything would fall into place once he left everything to Shisui and Kakashi.

“Alright” Kisame said as he dropped his head into his hands.

Sasuke didn’t know why he thought it’d take more convincing, but holy shit was he happy to hear that answer.

“You’re agreeing?” Sasuke asked, almost in disbelief.

“Yeah, I’m agreeing” Kisame said as he raised his head and swallowed thickly.

This would ease some of the pain that he’d caused some of the people he’d hurt, and he honestly saw no other option.

If Fugaku went down without his help, there is no way in hell that Kisame wouldn’t be going right with him.

“I think that it goes without saying that my father can’t know about any of this?” Sasuke said as he pulled out his phone to call Shisui.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this isn’t a cliffhanger! Well, kind of.  
> I didn’t want to bore you withSasuke just filling in Shisui, because he will be coming back very soon!
> 
> I really appreciate all of your guys’ kind words on Chapter 12! I just got worried that the story was becoming uninteresting, because it is now my longest story(:  
> I never thought I’d be able to write so much damn plot!
> 
> I’d love to hear what you guys think is coming up next<3
> 
> If you guys have any questions or anything, I always love hearing back from you!
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you’re all staying safe out there!<3


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m not telling(;  
> But it’s 11k, so I hope you’re ready!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope that you guys enjoy this one!  
> Thank you to Meehalla & Freakontour once again for being so amazing and helping me with this!<3

“Sasuke Uchiha” Sasuke said plainly as he answered his phone.

He was finally able to take a damn breath.

After his conversation with Kisame yesterday, he was able to take a step back from orchestrating his father’s grand take down, and finally leave the rest of the work to Shisui and Kakashi.

There wasn’t much else that his father could fuck with in terms of Sasuke’s business, considering he’d fucked with all of it, and he was slowly making his way down the list.

He was actually taking the time to eat lunch without working during his meal for once, but of course his phone just had to go and ring.

“You free for a minute? Something just came up” Jiraya’s voice said on the other end.

“Yeah, give me a moment and I’ll call you back on my office line” Sasuke said before even giving the man a chance to reply.

He sighed and pushed his food off to the side, no longer in the mood to eat at the thought of his, hopefully soon, ex-wife.

Sasuke pressed the button on his office phone for Shikamaru’s extension.

“What’s up?” Came Shikamaru’s dull voice through the speaker.

“Jiraya needs to talk to me about something for tomorrow. Can you stop in?” Sasuke asked as he tried to organize the random stacks of paper on his desk.

“Yeah, be right there” Shikamaru said before cutting the call.

Sasuke was in the process of looking for a pen and paper when Shikamaru strolled in a few seconds later.

“You don’t need a lawyer to talk to your lawyer, you know” Shikamaru said as he threw himself down on the sofa against the wall.

Sasuke just let out a deep chuckle and shook his head before dialing Jiraya on his office line and putting it on speaker.

He knew that he didn’t need Shikamaru there, Jiraya was arguably the best divorce attorney in the country, but Sasuke liked having him there, just in case.

Despite how he may seem, Shikamaru was insanely smart, his intelligence even surpassing Sasuke’s.

His mind saw fifty moves ahead in any given scenario, and he always found a way to make things work out.

That is why Sasuke hired him as his head of legal and always brought him in for his calls with Jiraya.

Sasuke had no doubt in Jiraya’s abilities, he couldn’t with the amount of money he was shelling out for his retainer, but this way he could be sure that nothing would be missed.

“You got the wiz kid with you?” Jiraya’s voice rang out, making Shikamaru roll his eyes.

“I’m here” Shikamaru droned out in his usual, bored tone.

“Good, because we’re probably gonna need him. Looks like there is a slight bump in the road that they tried to hide from us for tomorrow” Jiraya said.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose because, _of fucking course there is_.

The evidentiary hearing for Sasuke’s divorce was scheduled for tomorrow, so he figured something like this was coming.

“What’d she do?” Sasuke sighed out.

“It seems to be more of what _you_ did” Jiraya laughed out.

If it weren’t for his reputation, Sasuke would think that the man was certifiably insane with how casual he always was.

He always seemed like nothing bothered him, even though he had to deal with bickering exes every day for a living.

“You see, I was going over everything that Sakura is having submitted for tomorrow, and during my digging, I came across a little something that Orochimaru buried under a whole bunch of useless nonsense” Jiraya continued.

Sasuke raised his brow and looked over at Shikamaru, who actually looked attentive for once in his life.

“She is now claiming adultery, which as you know, is one of the few things that would nullify your prenup” Jiraya finished.

“Adultery? I never cheated on her, even though I should have” Sasuke said.

It was true.

He’d never cheated on Sakura. Not once.

Not because she didn’t deserve it, because she most definitely did, but because he was a man of his word.

He’d made the stupid commitment to be married to her, so he made the even stupider choice to actually honor that commitment.

“I’m not the one that needs convincing. They don’t have much here, but it says that they’ll be bringing up your recent bonding mark?” Jiraya said, the influx in his voice telling Sasuke that he wanted it either confirmed or denied.

Shikamaru raised his head off of the arm of the couch to give Sasuke a look of confusion.

He was one of Sasuke’s best friends, not that Sasuke had many actual friends, and he hadn’t heard anything about Sasuke having a mate.

Sasuke adjusted his suit jacket and cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the topic at hand.

“I do have one” Sasuke confirmed as he pointedly avoided looking at Shikamaru.

Jiraya let out a loud laugh from the depths of his belly.

“Congratulations! That’s good for you, but not great for us” Jiraya said earnestly.

“I need to know if I can expect them to have any proof whatsoever of infidelity” Jiraya added, suddenly sounding much more serious.

“There is no way for there to be proof of something that never happened” Sasuke replied.

He looked up to the couch to see that Shikamaru was no longer strewn across it and jumped when he felt the collar of his shirt being tugged at.

His heart damn near gave out at the sudden proximity of Shikamaru, who was trying to see if Sasuke actually went and got himself bonded or not.

Sasuke slapped his hand away like it was a pesky fly before going back to what Jiraya was saying.

“-bad or good. This is the kind of thing that is hard to prove without time stamped pictures or records of phones calls and text messages. The bad part is that it is even harder for us to prove that you didn’t do it” Jiraya explained.

Shikamaru put his hands on Sasuke’s desk and leaned on them as he began listening again as well.

“We can’t really prove that it didn't happen. The burden is mostly on them, but we don’t want to show up empty handed. Give me the rundown of how this came to be, so I can see how Orochimaru might be able to spin this” Jiraya said.

Sasuke heard him clicking a pen on his end, and sighed, figuring that there was no way out of this.

Shikamaru knew of Naruto, just not how serious Sasuke’s relationship with him had suddenly gotten. 

He was never going to hear the end of it.

“Naruto is the owner of the kids’ daycare. I met him about a week after I filed for divorce. I used to have a problem with picking them up on time because of long standing scheduling conflicts, so he’d watch them whenever I needed it. Nothing happened until-“ Sasuke had to take a moment to think about it.

He honestly couldn’t believe how fast things between him and Naruto had progressed. It felt like it’d been at least a year with all of the tribulations, but holy shit, it really hadn’t been that long at all.

“Maybe two months later. Before I started seeing Naruto, I contacted Sakura one day to try and work something out so that she would at least see the kids, but then she just dropped by unannounced and barged in with Naruto there” Sasuke said.

He figured that he could leave out the more graphic details of that encounter. All Jiraya needed to know was that it was after he filed for his freedom.

“But that was after filing. I didn’t even meet him until the week after she was served the papers” Sasuke said as he ran his fingers over his mark at the thought of Naruto.

He caught himself and abruptly stopped when he heard the slight exhale of Shikamaru smirking.

“And does he have a mark as well? What is the living situation like?” Jiraya asked as Sasuke heard his pen digging into paper as he jotted down notes.

“He does, and we live together at the moment. It was meant to be temporary due to unrelated circumstances, but we haven’t discussed it since bonding” Sasuke answered.

_Fuck, we haven’t discussed it!_

He didn’t see how he could’ve just forgotten that their arrangement wasn’t originally meant to be permanent when they’d first discussed it, but he totally had.

Naruto just fit, and Sasuke didn’t see him leaving ever being a possibility, so it never really crossed his overworked mind.

Haku would be able to get a protective detail soon, meaning that he would be leaving Sasuke’s house soon, or at least that’s what they’d said would happen.

Sasuke knew that he would have to talk to Naruto about where they would go from there, because there was no way in hell that Sasuke could stand Naruto going back to living at his own apartment.

_Fuck!_

Sasuke hated having so many things this up in the air, he literally just wanted at least one thing to be finished already so that he could take a minute to just enjoy his new life.

_Is that too much to fucking ask!?_

“I’m assuming that the kids like him, then?” Jiraya asked.

“They absolutely love him” Sasuke said, his tone going soft for a moment.

“They blatantly favor him over Sakura” Sasuke added, his voice cold once more, even if it was forced.

“Good, that’s good. I’m trying to stop it from going that far, but if it comes down to it, the judge may want to hear from Sarada” Jiraya said.

Sasuke’s jaw clenched.

He had no worries about what she might say, he knew that she would tell anyone that asked her, that Naruto was her mom, but he didn’t want to have to bring his four year old daughter into all of this.

She technically already was, but at least she wasn’t having to see any of it directly.

“I don’t want her to be involved” Sasuke stated.

Jiraya let out another hearty laugh.

“Orochimaru is good, but I’m better. I’ll do whatever I can to keep it from going that far. Plus, Sakura is interested in fighting the prenup, the kids are just a way to wear you down so that you’ll cave. They weren’t expecting for this to move so quickly” Jiraya said, fully aware of how Sakura was from Sasuke and Shikarmaru’s recountings.

“The best way for us to ensure that Sarada doesn’t get pulled into all of this, is to find a way to kill Sakura’s infidelity claim. Can you get me anything that proves it is unlikely that you met Naruto before filing for your divorce?” Jiraya asked.

Sasuke turned to Shikamaru.

It was his time to shine.

Sasuke had no idea how the hell he could prove that he hadn’t met someone.

_How the fuck do you prove nothing?_

“What time does the kids’ daycare close?” Shikamaru asked Sasuke.

“Six” Sasuke answered.

“Alright then, well Sasuke didn’t stop working till at least eight until after he took on the kids by himself. If we get a record of his work hours, will that work?” Shikamaru asked Jiraya.

“It’ll definitely help” Jiraya said.

“There’s a book at the daycare” Sasuke said as the mention of time logs sparked his memory.

He snapped his fingers to try and encourage his brain to remember if it was detailed enough to be useful or not.

He hadn’t had to sign the damn thing in quite some time, since Naruto took the kids in with him, and took them home when it was time to leave.

“Parents have to sign it when they drop kids off and pick them up and put the time. I’m sure Naruto can get copies of the pages before the divorce. It’ll show that Sakura was the only one to ever pick them up” Sasuke said after he was able to recall the log book.

“Now we’re talkin’. You said that he used to watch the kids after school hours, do you have any record of a text message with him saying ‘this is Naruto’ or anything like that to show when the contact outside of school started?” Jiraya asked.

Sasuke took a moment to think about it, not daring to check his phone with Shikamaru standing over his shoulder.

Ever since Naruto had gotten adventurous with the panties, the little minx had been sending Sasuke suggestive photos to rile him up. 

He did not want Shikamaru catching a glimpse of what was meant for his eyes only.

“Yeah, I’ve never deleted any of our messages. I’m sure that there is one in there somewhere” Sasuke answered.

“Great! I need you to take a screenshot of it, make sure there is a date and time on it, and email it to me. Get me those records as soon as possible so that I can submit them in time for them to be admissible” Jiraya said before pausing to rifle through some papers.

“The burden of proof rests primarily on them, they were hoping to catch us off guard, but if we can put even a shred of doubt in the judge’s head, then we’re golden” Jiraya finished.

“Hey, Jiraya” Shikamaru spoke up.

Jiraya let out a hum to tell them that he was listening.

“If it isn’t really about outright proving that Sasuke didn’t cheat, but just casting doubt, shouldn’t we go in with at least a year's worth of Sasuke’s time logs and daycare sign out sheets? Just overload them with information so that they see how improbable it is?” Shikamaru proposed.

“I’m telling you, kid. You ever want to come over to family law, I will match whatever pretty boy is paying you” Jiraya sighed out teasingly.

“Stop trying to poach the head of my legal department” Sasuke deadpanned.

He liked Jiraya because he saw through Sasuke's incredibly dry humor, that, or it just didn’t phase him. Either way, Sasuke was free to be an ass hole to him, and he liked that quality in people.

“No can do, he’d do great over on the dark side. But, yes, the more we can throw at them, the better it will look. Get me as much as you can before three today, and I’ll have it admitted” Jiraya said.

Sasuke looked over to Shikamaru to motion for him to tell his secretary to pull his logs, but the alpha was already halfway to the door.

Sasuke smirked and thanked the fucking lord for common sense and competency not being entirely lost. 

“Alright, I’ll get what I can from Naruto” Sasuke said into the speaker.

“I think that will be all we’ll need, but just in case, make sure that Naruto comes. We’ll have him sit in the back, though” Jiraya said offhandedly.

“Will do, Jiraya” Sasuke said.

“That’s all I’ve got for ya! Just show up tomorrow and try to look approachable” Jiraya said with a laugh that told Sasuke the man thought it was an impossible task.

“Win my case” Sasuke deadpanned.

Jiraya just laughed before hanging up.

Sasuke sighed and checked his watch.

_Most expensive half hour of my life._

He was about to give Naruto a call to tell him about needing the log book records when Shikamaru stepped back into his office.

“I’ve got Yugito on it. She’s gonna email your time cards for the last two years to Jiraya” he said as he went right back to the sofa.

“Thanks” Sasuke said curtly.

He truly did appreciate Shikamaru. Not only did he set up iron clad contracts that saved his company from going under during his father’s attack, but he might’ve just won him his divorce.

“So, the blonde that I met in your apartment?” Shikamaru asked with a knowing grin.

There was no way in hell that he was going to let Sasuke get off that easily.

“Wouldn’t be getting soft on me, would you now, Uchiha?” He added.

Sasuke held his lips in a tight, flat line, resisting the urge to chuckle.

_Fuck, maybe I am going soft._

-

“-should go smoothly. If we can get past her infidelity claim, she has nothing else to stand on, so this should be the last day that you’ll have to be a married man” Jiraya said as Sasuke and Naruto talked with him in the hallway.

The courthouse was absolutely massive and Naruto was nervous as hell.

There was just something about the huge, arched ceilings and the hallways that never seemed to end that were daunting.

Jiraya had mentioned that there was a slight chance that Naruto might be asked to speak, but that he’d do everything that he could to shut Sakura’s lawyer down before it got to that point.

Naruto didn’t think that he could stand being in the spotlight like that, with people viewing him as strange because he was an alpha with another alpha.

He was not looking forward to having his personal life aired out to a bunch of strangers, and then having it taken down on an official record.

His mind was racing with all of those insecurities as Sasuke continued speaking to Jiraya, but then Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s hand and interlaced their fingers.

He wasn’t even looking at Naruto, yet he managed to just know when he was needed.

The calming feeling of Sasuke rubbing his thumb along the edge of Naruto’s hand pushed those thoughts to the back of his head right as he caught a whiff of a familiar, sickly sweet floral smell.

He and Sasuke scrunched up their noses in unison, much to Jiraya’s entertainment.

“Ah! Orochimaru! Long time no see, huh?” Jiraya said in his booming voice before even turning around.

A male omega with shockingly reptilian features stood before them with Sakura behind his left side.

He wore a deep purple suit and an ungodly amount of silver jewelry. He had his hair up in a neat bun, but the front prices came down to hang in his face.

He even had on intricate purple eyeliner.

Naruto couldn’t even lie and say that he didn’t think that this man looked nothing like he would’ve imagined.

He had a look that was a mixture of flamboyant and intense.

Sasuke had told Naruto that Fugaku was paying for Orochimaru to represent Sakura, so he doubted that the eccentric looking man wasn’t a force to be reckoned with.

“Jiraya” the attorney said calmly as he nodded.

The man’s coldness had no effect on Jiraya, who just slung one of his large arms over the omega’s slender shoulders.

“Orochimaru and I used to be buddies back in law school!” Jiraya said with a toothy grin as Orochimaru deftly shook the alpha off.

“We went to law school together” Orachimaru corrected as he adjusted the colorful pocket square in his jacket.

“I just wanted to come over and introduce myself” Orochimaru said to Sasuke as he held out his manicured hand.

Sasuke took the omega’s hand, surprised at how firm his cold grip was.

“My, my. Your father wasn’t kidding when he said that you were a handsome boy” Orochimaru said with a snake-like grin as he studied Sasuke’s admittedly handsome features.

Sasuke snatched his hand back rudely, there was something about the man’s words that just slithered up his spine and gave him an uneasy feeling.

“Need I remind you about what happened the last time that you got too friendly with one of my clients?” Jiraya teased as he stepped in between them.

Orochimaru looked as if he were about to say something else, not even close to intimidated by the towering alpha, but changed his mind.

He stood up even straighter and gave an obviously fake smile.

“Sakura, come now, dear. We wouldn’t want to be late” he said as the pair turned away to make their way to the courtroom.

Sakura looked like she wanted to put in her two cents, but just huffed after receiving a warning look from Orochimaru.

“Don’t worry about him, he just likes to make people uncomfortable so they’re more likely to slip up. My last client he tried that with ended up suing him for sexual harassment. Just remember what we went over and no amount of mind games can make us lose” Jiraya said with a reassuring grab to both of their shoulders.

Jiraya knew every trick up Orochimaru’s sleeve, which is why he was able to spot the well hidden adultery claim.

Orochimaru always loved dragging things out when it came to solid cases like Sasuke’s. When he knew that a straightforward win was unlikely, he resorted to putting the person going against his client through hell by making their divorce painstakingly slow.

He essentially wore them down until they just couldn’t take it anymore and decided to settle, usually to the terms that Orochimaru set.

It was underhanded, but had proved to be extremely effective.

Too bad for him, though, that had Sakura as his client.

She was a generally unlikeable person, whose demeanor screamed entitlement. 

Jiraya wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Orochimaru had something being held over his head by Fugaku in order for him to take her on as a client.

Orochimaru held on to his win ratio very dearly, so it wasn’t likely that he chose to stay on as her attorney.

She was already a walking loss, but up against Jiraya, her chances were even worse.

Eventually they were seated in the courtroom while Naruto sat next to Shikamaru and Karin, anxiously watching on from a few rows behind where Sasuke and Jiraya sat.

He didn’t know why he expected it to be like the legal dramas he’d seen on TV, but it was odd that nobody ‘took the stand’.

It was mostly both parties sitting in their respective seats as the judge confirmed aspects of the case with either Sasuke or Sakura.

There were a few times when Orochimaru instructed Sakura not to answer, but other than that, it was fairly boring.

At least, it had been until Orochimaru brought up Sasuke’s ‘affair’.

“Mrs. Uchiha had suspicions about Mr. Uchiha’s sexuality, but had been assured by her husband that there was nothing to worry about” Orochimaru said confidently, going so far as to place his hand on Sakura’s shoulder as she let out Oscar worthy tears.

Naruto had to hold in his scoff, Karin however, wasn’t so inclined. She was sure to be quiet about it, but Naruto and Shikamaru had heard it and held in their chuckles.

Naruto had to give it to the scum bag, he was painting a pretty good picture of Sakura being the poor, unsuspecting wife. Sakura was doing a damned good job at seeming like she was in distress, too.

It made Naruto worry.

The blonde cut off his internal Sakura bashing to tune back in to the bullshit that Sakura’s lawyer was spouting.

“-Mrs. Uchiha did what she could. Suggested counseling, offered her support-“ Naruto looked over to Sasuke and saw that his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were going white.

“-She was willing to work on things with her husband for the sake of their children, but when she was told by an associate of hers that her husband was seen in a rather intimate setting with Mr. Uzumaki, she couldn’t turn a blind eye” Orochimaru said with a sympathetic sigh.

Naruto really did roll his eyes at that one, so did Shikamaru and Karin.

“She simply brought it up to Mr. Uchiha in hopes of communicating, only to be served with divorce papers the next day and unceremoniously thrown out of her own home and taken away from her children” the omega finished his story with a polite ‘Thank you, your Honor’ when a bow was more fitting for that performance.

Jiraya could tell by the omega’s smugness that Orochimaru genuinely thought that he’d caught them off guard.

He’d been counting on Jiraya still being the same slacker he’d known from law school, but even after all of the loses he’s had to endure at Jiraya’s hands, he still couldn’t swallow his pride and admit that Jiraya was fucking good at what he did.

Orochimaru really though that he had their number.

Jiraya had to comb through the mountain of bullshit that Orochimaru submitted with a fine toothed comb to spot this little tactic, but he’d found it, and it was time to make it known.

They were ready.

Jiraya knew Orochimaru’s games and habits far too well by now.

He knew that the omega wouldn’t have looked over what he’d sent in so close to the cut off, his ego never let him think that anyone could beat him.

This downfall is what made him the second best divorce attorney in the country.

He was banking on the fact that adultery allegations are usually just a bunch of he said she said, with the odds favoring the omega, due to alpha stereotypes.

The judge asked Sasuke if any of what Orochimaru said was true, and after a nod from Jiraya, he told the man that no, it was not.

Then it was Jiraya’s turn, and holy shit was it entertaining.

It was like he was a one man show with the way he presented everything so charmingly, but Naruto could still catch the smug satisfaction in his voice.

When he brought out the thick ass stacks of time sheets and daycare logs, Shikamaru and Naruto almost laughed at the way Sakura was visibly shaking in anger.

They could practically see the steam radiating off of her from behind.

She kept turning to frantically look at her lawyer like he could somehow put a stop to the total carnage that she’d started.

The judge only read the first few pages of the papers that he’d been handed, skimming through the rest to see that it appeared to all be in line with Jiraya’s version of the story.

“The children are our main concern, your Honor. They have a set routine with their father and Mr. Uzumaki, and are much safer with them. The police report from when Mrs. Uchiha allowed their four year old to get out and wander around until a police officer saw her, shows that” Jiraya said as he pulled out what Naruto assumed had to be the police report, and walked up to the judge to hand it to him.

“Mr. Uchiha has not done anything to warrant the prenuptial agreement being nullified, and he is clearly the only safe option as the guardian for the children. Due to this, my client is moving for sole custody and for the removal of any and all spousal support” Jiraya finished.

“What! I earne-“ Sakura burst out, cutting herself off only after Orochimaru snapped his head over to her and shot her a terrifying glare.

Jiraya just knew that Orochimaru had to hate having Sakura as a client.

This divorce was moving quicker than most, and probably quicker than any other divorce the omega had litigated.

All thanks to Sakura’s incompetence. The woman went and lost a kid for fuck’s sake!

Her screw up gave Jiraya the ammunition that he needed to expedite the hell out of this litigation, and he could just tell that Orochimaru was tempted to throttle the insufferable woman.

His eyes were somehow icier than Sasuke’s as he held his hand up to tell her to shut her mouth.

The damage had clearly been done though, her little outburst just gave Jiraya another opening.

“Mrs. Uchiha has a trust fund that is in the eight figures, your Honor, so there is no logical reason for her to need my client in order to maintain the lifestyle that she has ‘become accustomed to’” Jiraya said, using Orochimaru’s words from one of his earlier arguments against him.

The judge thanked both parties and allowed himself a moment to look back over everything that had been present over the last hour.

Naruto saw how tense Sasuke was and wanted nothing more than to go and rub his shoulders like he loved, but he forced himself to stay put.

He began messing with the button at the cuff of his dress shirt to resist the urge to go and comfort Sasuke.

He was so zoned out that he hadn’t even heard his name being called.

It took Shikamaru lightly elbowing him in his side to get his attention.

When his head shot up, it was to the terrifying sight of everyone staring at him expectantly.

“I’m sorry, what?” Naruto asked nervously.

“I asked if you are really willing to take on the full time care of two young children that aren’t your own?” The judge repeated patiently.

Naruto’s eyes went wide at being put on the spot, but remembered what Jiraya had told him.

He looked over to Jiraya for the go ahead to answer, and got the same nod that he’d been giving Sasuke all morning. Then he saw Sasuke.

For the first time since the trial had started, he looked relaxed.

His eyes held that bit of fondness that was reserved strictly for Naruto and the corner of his mouth was pulled up into an almost imperceptible smile.

He hadn’t even realized that he was grabbing Karin and Shikamaru’s hands now, but they both gave him reassuring squeezes. It gave him the push that he needed.

Naruto let out the breath that he hadn’t known he was holding and addressed the judge.

“I’ve known both of them almost their entire lives, and I do consider them to be my own. I’m more than willing” Naruto said without an ounce of hesitation.

The judge regarded Naruto for a few more moments, then set the documents in his hands down.

Jiraya had flashed Naruto a huge smile, clearly happy with his answer, before turning back to the judge like everyone else.

Sasuke stayed facing Naruto for a bit longer, unbelievably proud of who his mate was.

“Taking all of this into account,” the judge started, pulling Sasuke’s and Naruto’s attention back to him.

“I am ruling in favor of Mr. Uchiha. Due to the police report and text messages where Mrs. Uchiha has stated that she is unwilling to care for the children, I am granting Mr. Uchiha sole legal and physical custody, thereby stripping Mrs. Uchiha of any and all parental rights” the judge said with a clinical coldness.

Naruto felt like a semi truck had been lifted off of his damn chest at hearing those words.

That shit could’ve been a poem to him with how beautiful it sounded.

The blonde alpha didn’t even fully pay attention when the judge explained his ruling, basically saying that Sakura didn’t have a case to support her claims and that Sasuke didn’t owe her a damn thing.

They’d done it.

They’d finally gotten a fucking win!

Now they didn’t have to deal with Sakura’s petty mind games and they could finally focus on just being a family.

This felt like the first time that Naruto was actually able to breath since all of this had started.

Sasuke was officially fucking divorced!

After the judge signed some papers, he explained what the arrangement meant for Sakura in more detail, they were finally able to say that they had full custody of their kids.

It was nothing but smiles as their small group congregated in front of the barrier for the spectators.

Sasuke was sure to thank Jiraya again and shake his hand, whereas Naruto outright bear hugged the man.

Jiraya just laughed and gave them a sarcastic sign off of, “All in a day's work”.

Sasuke even took a moment to thank Karin for coming. He knew that she’d done it mostly for Naruto’s sake, but he was still appreciative of her being there to calm his mate down when he couldn’t.

Naruto loved that his sister and Sasuke seemed to be getting along better and better every time that they were around one another.

They still fought like cats and dogs, but at least there was less bite behind their words now.

Naruto would even go so far as to say that they were friends now.

“How does it feel to be a single man?” Naruto teased Sasuke.

Sasuke just shook his head and let out a deep chuckle.

Legally speaking, he might be single, but that blonde ray of sunshine had him so whipped that he was anything but single.

“Damn good” Sasuke sighed out as he grabbed Naruto’s hand in his own.

Jiraya was still getting the detailed run down and proper paperwork signed with the judge, so they all waited.

There was an ear splitting voice that broke the air of relief surrounding them.

Apparently Sakura felt that it was appropriate to bitch her attorney out, because they all turned to see an irate Sakura as she yelled at a bored looking Orochimaru.

Karin let out an icy laugh, unable to bite her tongue now that Sakura had no leverage over Sasuke or Naruto.

Sakura’s fury filled eyes snapped up to see Sasuke’s, Shikamaru’s, Naruto’s, and Karin’s smug smiles.

When her eyes fell to where Sasuke and Naruto’s hands were intertwined, she just lost it.

The sounds of her red bottoms hitting the tile reverberated throughout the courtroom as she stomped her way over to them.

She’d never not gotten her way, and much like the spoiled child that she was, she was not handling it with much grace.

She raised her Chanel bag and brought it down onto the back of the object of her rage. The one who had ruined everything for her in her delusional eyes.

Only problem was, Sakura had never hit anyone with anything in all her pampered life.

The hit was pathetically weak, even she couldn’t deny that fact.

Naruto just turned around and was stunned.

He literally laughed in her face.

“Was that supposed to be a hit?” He asked, thoroughly amused.

He couldn’t even bring himself to be mad right now; Sasuke had won and Sakura would be out of their lives for good. Plus, the shocking lack of force behind the blow was just hilarious to the blonde.

“No, really. Did you just try to hit me?” Naruto asked again through his snickers.

Sakura was shocked at the pathetic impact and still had her dainty little hand raised as if she were going to slap Naruto.

Apparently Sasuke didn’t find it as funny as Naruto did, because his jaw was clenched and his shoulders were squared as he let out a growl towards the pink haired omega.

He’d never hit a woman or an omega, he was raised better than that, but he had never been so tempted before. 

He made to step in front of Naruto to tell her to fuck off, but then Naruto and Shikamaru grabbed his arm and shoulder.

“Sasuke, it's okay. I barely even felt it. I’ve taken worse hits from the kids at the center” Naruto chuckled out.

Not only had she just lost her case as well as the husband that she’d worked so hard to attain, but now she was being openly mocked by some shameful alpha!?

Sakura was still frozen in shock with her hand raised, looking every bit of the fool that she was.

Everyone in the courtroom, including the judge, just openly stared at the scene, not quite sure what to do.

Naruto seemed to have it under control, well, at least he did at first.

“Seriously, she’s not wor- KARIN!” Naruto shouted as his sister suddenly jumped in and showed Sakura what a real hit looked like.

Naruto was so focused on calming Sasuke down that he didn’t even think about his sister’s dangerously short temper.

“Don’t touch my brother!” she yelled.

Before they could even appreciate the sight of Sakura nursing a ruined nose job, the two police officers assigned to the courtroom were surrounding them, with one restraining Karin.

Chaos started to ensue as the shouting started, but Shikamaru just sighed and put a stop to it with his permanently level headed thinking.

“She hit him first and was geared up to do it again” Shikamaru said unenthusiastically, like he hadn’t just been witness to an assault.

The officers looked at each other, and it was then that Naruto recognized the one who was restraining Karin as the same officer that Sakura had verbally accosted earlier this morning, before the hearing.

“You were right there and saw it happen” Shikamaru said offhandedly as he nodded at the officer holding Karin back.

It was a slight exaggeration.

Sakura had technically hit Naruto first, but to say that it was in his defense because he was in danger was a bit much, but Shikamaru also recognized the officer with Karin.

Sakura had spent a good five minutes this morning yelling at the poor sap because she refused to put her purse in the tray so that it could go through their security scanner.

His analytical eye had caught him watching the scene unfold, and he figured that he wouldn’t mind letting Sakura get the short end of the stick on this one.

She held up the long line of people trying to get through security this morning, and Shikamaru figured that he would be more inclined to just let it be than the other officer.

After taking only a few seconds to think it over, it didn’t take long, he shrugged and let go of Karin’s arms.

“She did hit him first” he said to the judge, who just nodded in agreement.

When they asked Naruto instead of Sakura if he would be pressing charges, he thought that Sakura might combust with how red her face got.

Even Orochimaru made no move to defend her.

When they were away from a still crying Sakura, Sasuke leaned over to whisper, “I think you just became my new favorite person” to Karin with a chuckle.

Naruto just got some sense of normalcy back in his life _and_ got to see Sakura take a punch to the nose? Holy shit, he’d died and gone to heaven.

-

“Would you stay still?” Sasuke asked in a good natured, but serious tone.

He was on edge enough as it was, and Naruto’s constant fidgeting on the sanitary paper for the exam bed was not helping. The loud crinkling was irritating.

He was uncomfortable enough being in an exam room designed very clearly for children, without any children, that the grating sound was almost unbearable.

Naruto popped the lollipop that he’d snagged from the check in desk out of his mouth before saying, “You’re the one who wanted to come here! I told you that I’m fine!”

Sasuke chuckled and shook his head at the sight of his six foot, muscled mate swinging his legs while he sucked on a lollipop in front of a rainbow mural.

“I said that you should go see a doctor, I didn’t say that it had to be your godmother” Sasuke replied.

“She’s the only one that I trust to get it right, okay?” Naruto said, his false bravado from earlier, deflating.

When he continued to show signs of fatigue and nausea, even though he always tried to deny it, Sasuke insisted that he go to see a doctor.

Karin had called Sasuke to let him know that Naruto left work early that day to try and get some rest to get over whatever he caught, not wanting to admit to himself what he truly thought was behind it.

Sasuke thanked her for letting him know, because knowing Naruto, he wasn’t planning on telling Sasuke about it because he didn’t want to worry him.

Sasuke’s office was closer to his house than the school was, so Sasuke managed to beat Naruto home.

Naruto had been shocked to see Sasuke, but instantly melted into him the second that Sasuke grabbed him and pulled him close to his chest.

Naruto just started crying and eventually told Sasuke just how shitty he’d felt lately; like he had no energy and the mere thought of food disgusted him.

Naruto broke down about how he didn’t know why his body was rejecting his mark if Sasuke’s was just fine.

He didn’t understand why the universe just couldn’t let him have this!

After a fair amount of persuading, Sasuke finally got Naruto to agree to go and see a damned doctor, but Naruto was adamant that he’d only see Tsunade.

She may be a pediatrician now, but that was only because she’d grown tired of being in a lab twenty four seven. Her background was a specialty in the biology behind omegas and alphas.

Not only was she once regarded as one of the best in her field, but Naruto didn’t think he’d be able to stand hearing that he could never be properly bonded to Sasuke from some stranger.

Naruto called Tsunade, but didn’t want to wait for her to stop by after her day at work, so she told him to just come into her practice and that she’d see him there.

Which is why Naruto and Sasuke were two grown ass men, sitting alone in a brightly colored pediatrician’s office.

Not quite how Sasuke saw his day going, but if it got them some answers, fuck it.

“And don’t you forget it, brat” said a blonde alpha as she stepped into the exam room.

“Hi, granny!” Naruto said, happy to see his godmother after so long.

She swatted the back of his head as a reprimand but then roughly pulled his head to her enormous chest in a hug as she placed a kiss to his head.

“You must be the man that my godson went and mated _without telling me_ ” she said to Sasuke as she gave Naruto a pointed glare.

“I’m Tsunade” she said as she stuck out her hand.

“Sasuke Uchiha” he said as he stood up to shake her hand.

_Fucking hell!_

The woman had the firmest grip he’d ever experienced, and he shook at least twenty hands a day.

Sasuke subtly flexed his fingers to regain some feeling in them once she released his hand as he came to stand next to Naruto.

“So what is this emergency that couldn’t wait?” She said as she sat down on her rolling stool and crossed her legs.

“It’s nothing, really, Sasuke just thinks that I’m sick. I feel fine most days, thou-“ Naruto started.

“He hasn’t felt well for about three weeks” Sasuke interjected with a raised brown at Naruto. He was basically daring him to try and downplay this again. He wanted to make sure that his mate was okay, but that wouldn’t be possible if he kept lying.

Naruto sighed and nodded when Tsunade also gave him a warning look.

“At first I thought it was just because of the partial bond, but then when I got my mark, it didn’t get any better” Naruto admitted.

“I thought that I told you to call me if things didn’t improve after one week” she sighed out.

“Well, it sometimes does. Some days aren’t so bad. It’s mostly nights that I feel the worst” Naruto said, trying to defend his blatant disregard of Tsunade’s instructions.

She just shook her head before asking, “So you’re worried about rejection?”

She stood up and made her way over to Naruto after he nodded.

She pushed his head to the side, without warning, and began gently putting pressure around his mark.

Sasuke felt irritation prick at seeing his mark on Naruto being touched by another alpha, but used his rational mind to remain calm.

“Any tenderness?” She asked as she continued.

“No” Naruto answered.

She then pulled at the loose collar of Naruto’s t-shirt that was actually Sasuke’s, and examined the mark closely.

“Most rejected marks will essentially look infected, because your body is trying to get rid of it and fight it. Yours looks fine, but that doesn’t mean a rejection still isn’t a possibility” she stated as she released her hold on Naruto and sat back down.

It eased Naruto’s worries a little to hear that she didn’t think that it was a clear rejection, but his anxieties weren’t completely gone. Not yet.

“I take it that yours has healed properly?” She asked Sasuke.

“As far as I know. I haven’t had any of the side effects that Naruto has been experiencing” Sasuke explained.

“Do you mind if I take a look at yours?” She asked.

Sasuke simply nodded his head and began to undo the first few buttons on his dress shirt to allow her to see his mark.

When it was exposed, she walked over to him and did the same thing that she had done to Naruto.

It was odd having someone else touch his mark.

He always thought that it was supposed to be insanely sensitive, but with her, it felt as normal as someone touching his arm.

Anytime Naruto so much as breathed on his mark, Sasuke was a goner.

“And you both have the common increased connection?” She asked.

They both nodded in unison.

She let out a quizzical hum as she turned around to dig through one of the drawers behind her.

“Honestly, everything seems fine. Usually if one person’s body rejects the bond, then the others will too. Not always, but normally” she said as she pulled out some tubes and a single use needle.

“I want to draw some blood and get a swab to rule out any infections. Since I’m familiar with your baseline, Naruto, I should be able to tell if your body is rejecting Sasuke’s mark” she said.

Naruto raised his brows in confusion. He wasn’t entirely sure about the science behind bonds, but he for sure thought that it’d take more than just the equipment available in a pediatrician's office to analyze it properly.

His godmother was good, but could she really be that good?

“I said that I should be able to. I’m just going to be looking at your levels of alpha hormones. If it’s had a large jump, it’s safe to assume that rejection is the cause of you not feeling well” she elaborated as she wrapped a tourniquet around Naruto’s arm and wiped his skin down.

“And if it is a rejection?” Naruto asked, almost in a whisper.

He hadn’t even realized when it happened, but Sasuke gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as he held it.

“Then I would strongly suggest that Sasuke not try to give you another mark” she said as she set up the needle.

She’d gone through this routine more times than she could count, and because of that she just fell into her clinical role.

She suddenly remembered that this wasn’t some random patient in front of her, but her very sensitive godson.

She sighed and her honey colored eyes softened as she looked up at him.

“It doesn’t mean that you two can’t be together, or even that you're romantically incompatible. It just means that you might be genetically incompatible, and not be able to hold his mark. I know plenty of people who have marks from their mate, but never spend any time with them. A mark means nothing if there isn’t any love behind it” she said, trying to reassure Naruto that he could still be with Sasuke, no matter the results.

Naruto just swallowed thickly and nodded as he tried to will his eyes to stay dry.

Not only could he never carry a child of his own, but now it was looking more and more likely that he couldn’t even carry a simple fucking mark?

_Come on! Give me a fucking break!_

He was beyond frustrated.

Tsunade made quick work of collecting what she needed, even topping it off with a cartoon band aid.

She said that she’d only be a few minutes as she left Naruto and Sasuke to not so patiently wait for her return.

Sasuke hadn’t been all that worried about Naruto’s body rejecting his mark before coming to Taunade’s practice. He thought that Naruto’s mark looked like it was healing fairly well, and he’d read that rejected marks usually looked irritated.

After hearing that it could still be a possibility made him anxious.

He really hoped that Naruto just had a nasty flu or something that could be handled with a simple prescription.

The man worked in a Petri dish of germs from children that didn’t know how to cover their mouths when they coughed or sneezed, so it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that he’d caught something from one of the little things.

It had taken more than just a few minutes for Tsunade to return, and by then, Naruto was even more anxious than when they’d first arrived.

Sasuke tensed when he saw the well concealed look of confusion on her face.

He really didn’t want Naruto to have to deal with his body rejecting Sasuke’s mark on top of being unhappy with his secondary gender. 

He just held on to Naruto’s hand tighter as he braced himself for the blow that would deeply hurt him as well.

“Congratulations?” She said, sounding to be in disbelief.

Sasuke raised his brow in confusion, but the blonde beside him relaxed instantly.

“So my body isn’t rejecting the mark!?” He asked, visibly excited.

“I don’t think so” she said as she looked over the paper attached to her clipboard one more time before handing it to Naruto.

Sasuke leaned over to be able to get a look, but he wasn’t a doctor, what the hell were they supposed to do with this?

“Your levels didn’t jump, they dropped. A lot” she explained as she came over to point to the reading that she was referring to.

Next to it was a handwritten number that was significantly larger.

“That is roundabouts what your baseline was last I can remember” she said as she used her pinky to point to the handwritten number.

“What does that mean? I know if it went up that meant a rejection, but this is a big difference” Naruto asked, just as confused as Sasuke.

Neither of them were entirely sure what the normal range of fluctuation was for something like this, but it didn’t seem possible for this to be within that range.

“I triple checked this, so I’m fairly certain that I’m right, but-“ she trailed off as she dragged her pinky down to the bottom of the paper where there was a chart that Sasuke didn’t even bother trying to decipher.

“These are the normal ranges for an omega” she said as she pointed to one of the colored lines.

_Okay, got it. Why does that matter?_

“Your numbers fall in line with that of an omega” Tsunade clarified when Sasuke and Naruto just looked at her with blank faces.

Naruto’s head shot back down to the paper as if he could do a better job reading it than Tsunade, but as his eyes rapidly scanned the information, he saw that she was right.

“Wait, so I’m- does that mean I’m an omega? How is that even a thing that can happen?” Naruto asked, his mind racing a mile a fucking minute.

Sasuke’s eyebrows shot up in shock, not even thinking that was a possibility.

He stared at Tsunade and waited for some much needed answers.

“That’s what your levels are telling me” she said with a hand motion that showed she was just as shocked as them.

“I checked your levels myself to confirm your alpha status when you first presented, so I know that it wasn’t wrong. Something had to have changed, so I took a look to see if there were any other changes, and this popped up” she said as she pointed to another number that Sasuke didn’t know what to do with.

He was starting to get frustrated and wished that she would just spit it out already.

Was Naruto okay or wasn’t he?

“There is a hormone called hCG in your system. It only appears during pregnancy” she said with a smile as she stepped back to allow that information to sink in.

She’d been one of the few people that Naruto actually confided in about his desire to have a child.

It’d been prompted by him coming to her to medically verify his status in hopes that it was wrong, and then a fourteen year old Naruto breaking down into tears in her office.

It’d broken her heart to see him like that, but that’s why she triple checked this before telling him.

There was no way in hell that she would get his hopes up unless she was absolutely sure, not when it came to this. Not with Naruto.

She saw Sasuke’s eyes widen as he took a closer look at the report she’d printed up as Naruto raised his head to look at her with his mouth agape.

“So I’m- no, that isn’t possible, Auntie. I’m an alpha. I- you checked!” Naruto babbled, trying to convince himself that this wasn’t happening.

He was afraid to even entertain the idea that this was reality, because if he got excited and it somehow turned out to be a mistake, he’d be absolutely devastated.

“Kid, you should know that I wouldn’t even tell you this unless I was at least ninety-nine percent sure” she said gently.

Sasuke had yet to look up from the paper in Naruto’s hands, his brain short circuiting.

“How, though?” Naruto asked, sounding fragile.

She’d honestly expected him to be jumping with joy at hearing the unexpected news, but then again, she was a doctor, not a mind reader.

She had no idea how little trust Naruto had in things working out for him so easily. He had closed the door on this particular dream a long time ago, and it wouldn’t be that simple to start picking at that lock.

“The only thing that I can think of is a dormant protector gene from somewhere down the line suddenly woke up when you were born” Tsunade answered as she took a seat on her stool.

She was still trying to string together the best explanation for someone that wasn’t familiar with the concept, but it’s not like it was something that she’d ever had to do before. She was caught off guard just as much as Naruto and Sasuke.

“Protector gene?” Sasuke asked, finally able to make his mouth form words.

Tsunade sighed and decided that she’d just have to wing it and hopefully they’d follow.

“Way back when doors with locks weren’t a thing, like caveman era, there were omegas that were essentially ‘protector omegas’. An omega that was basically made to stay back and keep the other omegas and children safe while the alphas and betas went out to hunt” she started.

She adjusted her position into one that was more comfortable for the long term and dove back in.

“From studies, we’ve deduced that they were larger than a typical omega, sometimes even as big as the alphas, and easily developed muscle mass like alphas. They were meant to appear as though they were alphas to ward off any threats” Tsunade continued.

Sasuke guessed that Naruto did fit that description, but how in the hell was this happening?

_A baby. Another baby. With Naruto._

When she saw that they didn’t look completely lost so far, she started up again.

“They had the same internal anatomy of any other omega, a womb and whatnot, but otherwise, were more similar to alphas. Eventually there came a time when protector omegas were no longer needed, with packs no longer being a common practice. Through Darwinism, the mutation that caused protectors, basically died out” Tsunade said.

She was about to go on when Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.

“If it’s not a thing anymore, how can I be one? You’re trying to say that you think that’s what happened, right?” Naruto asked.

Tsunade nodded and answered with, “Yes. It did basically eradicate itself over time, but certain mutations can lie dormant in families for generations, then suddenly pop back up again when paired with the right genetic code to bring it out”.

When that seemed to be a good enough answer to Naruto’s question, she delved back into her explanation.

“Basically, we thought that you were just a weak alpha, because your levels did fall within alpha range. Turns out that you’re just a very strong omega. I never thought to check your internal anatomy, because this is something that almost never comes up” Tsunade finished with a clap of her hands.

“How often does something like this happen?” Sasuke asked, still in awe.

“I had to look up the statistic, because in all of my years of handling the strangest cases that you could ever think of, I’ve never come across a protector omega. You’re looking at about a one in one billion chance, kid” she answered, being sure to emphasize the ‘B’ in that number.

Sasuke still looked awed as he ran a hand through his thick hair.

Tsunade was in the middle of asking Naruto if he understood her better now, but halfway through her question, he cut her off.

“I’m an omega?” Naruto asked, finally sounding like he was willing to believe it to be true.

Tsunade gave him a confident nod.

His hand that wasn’t holding Tsunade’s report slowly slid up to his stomach and came to rest over where he’d thought he’d started to go a little soft.

He’d thought that he just needed to start going to the gym again.

Hearing the actual scientific reasoning behind it made him willing to believe it. He wanted to believe it so badly.

Tsunade caught the movement and was so unbelievably happy for her godson.

“Sasuke, have you noticed anything different lately? Naruto nesting, always wanting to be with you? You needing to be around him more than usual?” She asked.

She figured that if Naruto heard about Sasuke noticing anything like that happening, that his trust in her words would solidify.

Thinking back on it; yeah, he had seen it.

He’d noticed that Naruto had really ramped up the cleaning in the last month or so.

Just the other day, he had come home to Naruto deep cleaning, which wouldn’t have been so strange if the blonde hadn’t taken it to such extremes.

The man had taken the damn vent covers off and scrubbed them within an inch of their lives. Who the fuck cleans vent covers that thoroughly!?

He should’ve known.

It was painfully obvious now that he thought about it.

He’d been incessantly horny lately, and now he knew why.

“Yeah, he went around the house and deep cleaned everything. He insists on putting both of the kids to sleep by himself every night and has needed to be with them and me more lately, and he is always wearing my clothes” Sasuke said, leaving out the bit where they’ve had more sex in the last few days than they had in last month.

Tsunade gave the blonde a fond smirk.

“You’ve been unknowingly nesting” she said.

Naruto still looked to be in disbelief as his grip on his shirt continued to get tighter.

“I’m pregnant? Like actually pregnant?” Naruto choked out.

“hCG isn’t present in anyone unless they’re pregnant, kid. With levels like this, I am pretty much guaranteeing it” she said resolutely.

Naruto hung his head as a wave of emotions that was almost too strong to handle washed over him.

His eyes were shut tight, yet he still felt the tears dropping down onto his hands.

Sasuke couldn’t fucking believe it.

There was once a time where he didn’t think that he’d ever have children, then he wound up with two. As much as he loved Sarada and Ren, having to handle them both completely on his own for a while made him fine with never having any more kids. They were a lot of fucking work.

Then along came Naruto.

Naruto made him want everything.

He had wanted to give Naruto the children he’d always dreamed about so badly, and now it was happening.

Naruto was carrying his child, and while a third child should have terrified him like the thought of having his first and second had, he was the happiest he’d ever been.

Sasuke was so grateful to Naruto for giving him his third child, and he couldn’t stand to not show that fact.

Sasuke lifted his leg and sat on the exam bed next to Naruto and pulled the crying man into his chest.

“Thank you” Sasuke whispered as he buried his nose in soft blonde locks and breathed in a much sweeter version of Naruto’s scent.

Sasuke had never been big on sweets, buck fuck if it wasn’t the best smell he’d ever come across.

_How could I have missed it?_

Naruto’s head shot up to look at Sasuke like he had gone insane.

He just couldn’t fathom how Sasuke could be thanking _him_.

He was the one that was finally getting what he’d always wanted most in the world.

His mind kept replaying all of the obvious signs, but with him thinking that he was an alpha, he’d never once considered this as a possible outcome.

Sasuke allowed himself to get caught up in the unnaturally vibrant blue of Naruto’s eyes before his brain suddenly processed what Tsunade had said last.

“You said that his levels are high. Is that good?” Sasuke asked as he turned back to the alpha woman.

He honestly had no clue how anything with pregnancy worked.

Sakura had been so caught up in planning baby showers and decorating the perfect nursery, that she never brought up things like hormone levels.

It’s not like Sasuke ever went to any of her doctor’s appointments, either. It was something that he regretted, but he just couldn’t bring himself to deal with his ex-wife anymore than necessary back then.

He’d never wanted anything more in his life, now. He needed to be sure that Naruto and the baby were okay.

“It’s very good” Tsunade said reassuringly.

“Either he’s got three babies in there, or he is right on track to be about three months along” she said.

Sasuke’s heart almost fell out of his ass, and Tsunade could tell.

She let out a booming laugh at the look on Sasuke’s face.

Sure, he’d told Naruto they could adopt as many kids as he wanted, but the thought of three babies at the same time petrified him, as it would any sane human.

“Relax, I was just messing with you. Unless there is a timeline error, my guess is that Naruto’s about three months along with a single fetus. His levels are healthy and support that” she said.

Sasuke thought back on it, and three months was definitely within the window of possibility.

“I’ll wait till after the baby is here to beat your ass about not being honest with me during your evaluation appointments, though” she said, only half jokingly to Naruto.

Naruto let out a wet chuckle, still unable to stop what Sasuke just knew were happy tears.

“I didn’t lie to you” he said as he leaned his head on Sasuke’s shoulder, willing his eyes to cease and desist with the water works.

“Oh? You never once thought to tell me that you were having heats and not ruts? That you’d never formed a knot” she said with a lightly accusatory tone.

Her godson could’ve been spared a lot of heartache and insecurity had he told her anything that would’ve made her think that a closer look was necessary. 

“I didn’t know! I’ve always known I was gay so I thought it was a rut more suited to what I like! And I was never in the position to knot anyone, so I figured that it wasn’t relevant” Naruto said, shrinking back from the intimidating woman’s gaze.

“You didn’t think that it was relevant to tell your doctor?” She asked sardonically.

“Not when I had to sit across the table from that doctor at Sunday dinners, no. It’s not like I ever produced slick, so how was I supposed to know?” Naruto said, clearly uncomfortable with such invasive questions in such a flustered state.

“Well, you probably won’t outside of your heat, and even then, it probably won’t be much, which is probably why you’ve never noticed it” she said with a sigh.

“But you honestly never thought that it was odd that you could withstand being knotted? Anyone that isn’t an omega, even betas, usually can’t handle it because their bodies weren’t made to accommodate that” she said, exasperated at Naruto’s stubbornness.

She always hated when patients kept things from her because they were embarrassed. It was literally her job to diagnose medical problems, but how was she supposed to properly do that when they kept things from her!?

“I honestly thought I was just a slut or something, and it’s not like I would’ve known that up until a few months ago” Naruto rushed out, his mouth just spewing random shit so that his godmother would stop talking to him about knotting.

He wasn’t lying, though.

With Kiba wanting to keep him a secret, it’s not like there was ever a time where they’d been tied to one another after sex.

Kiba always pulled out before knotting, because he didn’t want to risk one of his frat brothers walking in on them, and Naruto had lived in an apartment with Karin and two other roommates during college.

Privacy hadn’t exactly been easy to come by.

“Well apparently you are. Love knowing that about my godson” she teased as she stood up.

Sasuke held in his chuckle at the mortified look on Naruto’s face.

“Anyway, your levels changing this drastically tells me that your body is adjusting to accommodate the new resident, which is good, but I’m not all that well versed in obstetrics. I want you to call my associate and set up an appointment with her as soon as possible, alright? Tell her that you’re my godson and to give me a call so I can explain everything to her” Tsunade said as she pulled Shizune’s card out of the pocket of her white coat.

Shizune was the best OBGYN in the state, and she was the only one that Tsunade would recommend for someone as precious to her as her godson.

As far as she could tell, Naruto wasn’t high risk, but there was only so much that she could see with what equipment she had at her disposal.

To her knowledge, protector omegas weren’t all that fertile, because them being pregnant made it harder for them to defend, which is what led to the gene basically disappearing.

She honestly had no idea if they were more prone to complications or not, so she was sending him to the best high risk OBGYN that she knew of.

If anyone would know anything about the carrying statistics of protector omegas, it’d be Shizune.

Plus, if at any point anything did come up, she’d be the best for the job.

Naruto took the card from Tsunade and nodded, his smile not capable of being contained.

He stood up and wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could.

She’d always been like a second mom to him, and if his mother couldn’t be here when he found out that he’d actually be having a baby, he was glad that she could be with him.

“Thank you” he said as his eyes began to water yet again.

“No problem, brat. I can’t wait to have another mini Mina running around, so I expect invites to dinner every once in a while” she said sincerely as she hugged him back.

Naruto let out a laugh at hearing that nickname again.

She’d always called him that because of just how much he looked like his father. She’d stopped when he got a bit older, but she didn’t even say it jokingly after his parents’ passing.

He’d missed it.

“Yeah, right. You should see his other kids. Fucker’s genetics are as strong as steel” Naruto laughed out as he pulled back and gestured to Sasuke. “But of course” Naruto finished.

Sasuke shook his head fondly as his blonde came back to him.

As cute as his kids were, he couldn’t help but want to see blue eyes and adorable whisker marks on an Uchiha face.

During his visualization of what no doubt would be the cutest baby to ever exist, Sasuke’s hand had found its way on top of Naruto’s as it rested on his slightly less firm stomach.

_Seriously, how could I have not noticed?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, whatcha think?(;
> 
> For anyone that asked for me to give this man a baby, you have Meehalla to thank for this happening!  
> Without her explanation, this would not have happened, so thank you, love!<3
> 
> I really thought that I was being slick with the hints, but some of you knew!
> 
> Thank you for all of you comments on the last chapter, I will be replying to them as soon as possible!<3
> 
> I’d love to hear back from you guys on this one and what you think is in store for the next chapter!(:
> 
> As always, thank you all, and I hope you’re staying safe out there!<3


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Approaching the end, maybe?(;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys!  
> I apologize for the longer than usual wait, but this one took a while because I was debating on splitting it in two or not. I obviously decided against it, hence the long chapter!
> 
> As always, thank you to Meehalla and Freakontour, but also Organictamato!<3
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this one.<3(:

Naruto huffed as he tossed his umbrella to the side when he finally got into his office.

After leaving Tsunade’s, Sasuke had gotten a call from Shikamaru. He knew not to call unless it was really important, and turned out that it was.

Sasuke’s meeting for next week with some big wig manufacturer had been moved up to right about now.

The guy apparently moved around his plans without telling anyone, and would be in the city for only today, so Sasuke had no choice but to go. 

He’d been irritated all to hell about it, much like Naruto, but there wasn’t much that they could do besides get on with the day.

Sasuke having to go back to work might have popped the bubble of domestic bliss surrounding them, but Naruto was on cloud fucking nine.

He still felt like garbage, but he was so happy that he couldn’t be bothered to care.

He just hadn’t felt like going home without Sasuke, and this way he could see his babies and his sister.

He didn’t want to tell anyone until his appointment with Shizune in a few days, just to be absolutely sure, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t cuddle up with his kids.

Plus, it was good timing; the weather had been hellacious lately, and the storm outside had caused the power for the daycare to shut off. It’d only happened about five minutes ago.

Naruto called Karin once he’d gotten off of the phone with Shizune’s office, to tell her that he was coming back in when he’d suddenly heard frantic screams in the background.

When she told him that the power went out, he knew that the teachers would need some help to calm some of the younger kids down.

Most of the classrooms had managed to get their kids down for naps, but the two year old room kids were having an especially hard time with the lack of lights, so he figured that’s where he would head over to.

A sudden loud crack of thunder made him jump, and he silently prayed that it would ease up soon so that the napping kids could stay asleep until the power kicked back on.

He’d been helping Ino out in the twos for about five minutes when a distressed looking Temari came in.

She was mindful of the children halfway between sleep and wakefulness when she approached Naruto.

“We have a problem,” she whispered.

“What’s up?” Naruto asked as he carefully got up from where he’d been sitting between two of the napping children.

“It’s Sarada,” Temari said with a sigh.

Naruto’s attention instantly peaked and he went into full mommy mode.

_What’s wrong with Sarada? Did sh- The thunder!_

Sarada had no issues with the dark, bugs, or most things that terrified children her age, but she absolutely hated thunder.

Sasuke’s theory is that she was probably left to just cry when she was younger and thunder would scare her during storms, because he doubted Sakura was the type to offer any form of comfort.

Either way, she absolutely hated thunder and wouldn’t sleep anywhere but Naruto and Sasuke’s bed when there was a storm going.

Naruto hadn’t even thought about it when he’d first heard it, but he should have expected this.

“She woke up a few minutes ago from the thunder, and she started screaming. We’ve been trying to console her for almost five minutes, but she just keeps crying for her mom,” Temari explained.

Every teacher was notified when someone was added to the ‘Do Not Release List’, to ensure that there would never be any mistakes with it.

Temari knew that Sakura wasn’t allowed to pick Sarada and Ren up anymore, so it’s not like she could even call her to let her try to talk Sarada down.

Naruto felt flustered and conflicted.

None of the teachers at the center knew about his role in Sasuke’s life.

All they knew was that he showed up with the Uchiha siblings, and left with them and Yakeru.

According to Karin, the staff suspected something was going on, but for the most part, they thought that he was still just doing Sasuke a favor because of his sizable donation to the school.

He didn’t quite know if he was ready for them to know quite yet, but the thought of his baby girl hysterically crying out for him made the decision easy.

He made his way to the door and quickly went down the hallway to the four year old classroom, Sarada’s cries getting louder as he got closer.

Temari was right behind him and tried to explain the true extent of Sarada’s meltdown as she struggled to keep up with his pace.

“She won’t let me or Hinata come near her. I’m telling you Naruto, she only wants her mom, we might need to call her dad to come pick her up,” she rushed out as they reached the door to the classroom.

Naruto sighed as he put his hand on the handle.

She’d probably find out in about two seconds anyway, so he didn’t see much use in hiding it anymore.

“She’s, uh, she’s talking about me,” he said quickly before opening the door.

He didn’t even look back at Temari to gauge her reaction as he rushed over to where Sarada had backed herself into the corner of the room where Hinata tried to console her from the distance that Sarada was willing to allow.

Her cries sounded exhausted and strained as she hugged her knees to her chest even tighter and continued to call out for her mommy.

Naruto carefully stepped over the children stirring on their mats and silently scooped Sarada up.

Her crying didn’t immediately stop, but it went down in volume, as a shocked Temari and Hinata watched the seemingly inconsolable child be easily consoled.

Sarada wrapped her little arms around Naruto’s neck as she buried her face into his chest, even wrapping her legs around him.

She clung to him like a koala as he swayed back and forth and ran his hand through her hair to calm her down.

“Shh, it’s alright baby. I’m here,” Naruto whispered over and over until her cries became tired sniffles, and eventually she was quiet.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief now that his pup was no longer in distress, purposefully ignoring the questioning look that he could feel being sent his way by Temari.

He walked over to Sarada’s mat and leaned over to gently lay her down, but even in her sleep, she managed to cling even tighter to him.

He tried again a few minutes later, and chuckled when it yielded the exact same result.

“Alright, love. Come on,” he whispered, mostly to himself, as he expertly carried her out of the room, going to the next one over.

Karin’s head shot up when she heard the door opening, not expecting to see her brother carrying Sarada.

Naruto found Yakeru’s nap spot and used his head to motion towards the extra mats.

Karin got the hint and rushed over to grab one, laying it down right next to Yakeru’s.

Naruto leaned over and more or less pried Sarada off of him. She began to stir and whine a bit, but then her hand fell onto Yakeru’s arm and she immediately calmed down.

Naruto let out a sigh and rubbed at where his neck had been used as a monkey bar for the last five minutes.

“She doesn’t like thunder and freaked out. Just call me if it happens again. She can stay with Ru for the rest of the day if she wants,” he said to Karin.

His sister just shook her head as she wore a smug smirk.

“So you’ll break the rules for your kids,” she teased.

Naruto’s brows furrowed as he went to scowl and defend himself, but yeah, that’s exactly what he was doing.

“Shut up!” He whispered, two steps away from pouting.

He and his sister might be adults with bills and shit now, but they always managed to bring the immaturity out in one another.

He was surprised that he hadn’t stuck his tongue out at her.

She just let out a fond laugh, her expression going slightly soft when she saw the two Uchiha cousins cuddled up together.

It was unbelievably adorable.

Naruto had to look away before he cried.

At least now he knew why he’d been a blubbering mess as of late. 

“You did good, little brother,” she said with a small, but very genuine smile.

At first Naruto was confused, because he almost always was the one they called in when one of the kids was having a melt down, but then he realized she wasn’t referring to his abilities to soothe an irate child.

She meant that she was proud of him and his family.

_Fuck, now I really am going to cry._

His sister rarely got all sentimental on him, it just wasn’t in her nature, so it meant the world to him that she was showing him just how happy she was for him.

She loved his kids so damn much, and unquestionably considered them to be her niece and nephew, she even considered Yakeru and Haku to be her family now.

He was so tempted to just blurt out the fact that he is actually an omega and that she would be getting another niece or nephew, but he knew that they’d need more time and privacy for that explanation.

“How are you gonna explain this one to the reporters?” She asked as she gestured to where Temari and Hinata were peeking through the window in the door, her tolerance for all of the mushy feelings having reached its limit.

Naruto chuckled and shook his head.

There would be no explaining this one away.

“She kept asking for her mom. I had to tell Temari she meant me,” Naruto winced out.

“Oh, man. Better plan an HR meeting with everyone. You’re fucked,” Karin said as she laughed at his expense.

He really was.

There was no way that word wouldn’t get around about Sarada referring to Naruto as her mom.

He would need to tell his staff that he had gotten himself romantically involved with one of the parents.

_God, they’re gonna give me so much shit!_

-

The power kicked back on shortly after Naruto had gotten back to his office, so he figured that he might as well actually do some work.

There were a few things that had come up here and there that he’d been saving for the next staff meeting, so he was compiling them into an agenda of sorts.

He was honestly taking a page right of Orochimaru’s handbook and trying to find enough mundane stuff to bury his violation of his own damn policy.

He knew that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but he also didn’t want his staff to view him as a hypocrite.

He prided himself on treating his employees well, and he always tried his best to make work enjoyable for them.

Naruto didn’t want to lose their respect, because most of his teachers had become good friends of his.

Before he had Sasuke and the kids, they’d been his only family, apart from Karin and Tsunade.

He was stewing in his anxious thoughts when he heard someone trying to frantically open the door to the lobby.

It had a keypad, so that only parents or anyone given a code could enter, so the sound of it refusing to open told Naruto that it wasn’t a welcomed guest.

He took his hand off of his stomach, where it now seemed to permanently live, and ran it over his face.

He still didn’t feel great, and just wanted to have a smooth rest of the day. 

Naruto didn’t think that he was asking for too much!

He heaved himself up and made his way over to the thick, glass door, not expecting to see Kiba fucking Inuzuka of all people.

Against his better judgement, Naruto opened the door so that he would stop rattling it and making so much noise.

If Karin came out to investigate and saw Kiba, Naruto would be needing to bail his sister out of jail tonight.

“What are you-“ Naruto didn’t even get a chance to ask what the hell Kiba was doing at his place of business, before the alpha started laying into him.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve! You’re still holding a grudge after all this time and thought it would be okay to fuck me and my family over!?” Kiba shouted at him.

Kiba was still in his uniform and looked pissed.

_But first of all; what the fuck? Secondly; huh?_

“Don’t yell at me in my lobby and watch your language,” Naruto warned calmly.

He and all of the teachers swore like sailors, but they never screamed obscenities for the kids to hear.

Naruto might’ve been pissed about seeing Kiba at all, but he wouldn’t stand to have him talking like that for any of the younger ears to hear.

That only seemed to make Kiba even angrier.

“WHA-“ Naruto cut him off by dragging the alpha into his office.

As uneasy as he was with being behind a closed door with the ass hole, he really just didn’t want Karin to see him. If he’d allowed Kiba to stay out in the lobby, she definitely would have.

“Why are you here?” Naruto bit out, refusing to take his back off of the door.

He might not be scared of Kiba, but that didn’t mean that he trusted him, especially now that he was pregnant.

He wanted to be as close to the door as humanly possible, because this did not seem to be a friendly visit.

“Why did you go and get me fired!?” Kiba shouted.

Naruto must’ve looked just as confused as he felt, because Kiba continued.

“I get why you wouldn’t want to forgive me, but I needed that job! I have a five year old and a newborn, Naruto!” Kiba exclaimed, still angry, but showing genuine concern, too.

“I didn’t get you fired, Kiba,” Naruto explained calmly.

It was a forced calm, but still.

“So I randomly get fired after you show up and find out I’m a police officer and work under your boyfriend’s cousin?” Kiba asked sarcastically.

Naruto was shocked at how little he feared Kiba, now. He was more irritated than anything.

If it weren’t for the jerk in front of him, he would’ve taken the time to be thankful for Sasuke and all of the amazing changes that he’d brought into Naruto’s life.

“He’s my mate,” Naruto corrected, showing that he was no longer meek and demanded respect. “And yeah, maybe you’re just as shitty of a cop as you are a person,” he added.

Kiba raised one of his brows, surprised, since a few weeks ago, Naruto held no mark.

Then he felt frustration flood his brain once more.

Naruto’s words struck a nerve.

He’d been stressed because of the lack of sleep that came with a newborn, and he had been slipping up at work lately, so his shortcomings were a sore spot for him.

“You really expect me to believe that you didn’t have your _mate_ ,” Kiba emphasized the word spitefully, “call my boss?” He finished with an incredulous scoff.

“You know what, Kiba?” Naruto started as he stepped a little closer to the alpha that had caused him so much pain over the years.

“I could have, I fucking _should_ have, but I didn’t. Sasuke wanted to, but I stopped him, not that you deserved my kindness after what you did to me,” Naruto spit out, all of his pain turning into anger after repressing it for so long.

He never got proper closure, and this was his chance to say all that he had to say to the person that was responsible for ruining a big part of his life.

“I-What? You didn’t have him call Shisui?” Kiba asked in shock and disbelief.

“Clean the shit out of your ears. That’s what I just said. I made him promise not to tell Shisui, and unlike you, he is a man of his word,” Naruto said scornfully.

Kiba looked at a loss of words. 

He’d come here in an impulsive fit of rage, but now that he was here and told that his anger was misdirected, he didn’t know what the hell to do.

He believed Naruto.

Naruto might be an entirely different person now, but he’d always worn his heart on his sleeve, which meant that he was a shitty liar.

Kiba searched Naruto’s face for any signs that he might be lying, but he couldn’t spot any, and it made sense.

Naruto had always been unbelievably kind, so that definitely sounded like something that he’d do.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I just assumed tha-“ Kiba was so flustered that he let Naruto talk over him without a fight.

“Assumed that I was still angry enough to get you fired?” Naruto supplied.

“I have every right to be angry with you, but I don’t care anymore, Kiba. I have a mate that didn’t care that I was an alpha and has given me my ideal life,” Naruto said, enjoying getting to rub his happiness in Kiba’s face a bit.

Now that the blind rage had cleared from Kiba, he was actually listening to Naruto’s words.

Kiba also noticed that Naruto’s hand kept coming down to rest on his stomach, recognizing what it implied.

“You’re not an alpha?” He asked, genuinely confused.

First he’d lost his career, and now he was finding out that someone could switch secondary genders? His brain felt like it might just explode.

“No, I’m not,” Naruto answered proudly.

“I’m an omega. Looks like all those years of shame were for nothing,” Naruto said.

The blonde wasn’t used to being so vindictive and cruel, but he felt like he deserved this one pass.

Kiba’s eyes went wide, then he just sighed and threw himself back into Naruto’s desk chair.

He deflated and looked conflicted.

“It wasn’t for nothing, I love my wife. I’m sorry about how I handled everything, I really am, but I do love her,” Kiba sighed out.

Naruto suddenly felt much less okay with being so cold.

He had every right to be a jerk, but it just wasn’t in his nature.

“Look, Kiba-“ Naruto sighed as he gathered his jumbled thoughts.

“It really doesn’t matter anymore, alright. We both found happiness, so just drop it, okay?” He finished.

The thought of Kiba being wracked with guilt about what he’d done to Naruto used to be the only thing that got the blonde past what he’d done, but now Naruto just wanted it to finally lay it to rest. For the both of them.

Kiba looked shocked, but eventually nodded before standing up.

“I’m really sorry about coming here the way I did. I just didn’t know what to do, and I thought you were the one that got me fired,” he admitted awkwardly as he started making his way to the door.

Naruto stepped to the side to allow him more room, still not wanting to be close to the alpha.

He watched as Kiba’s shoulders sagged as he turned the handle, and Naruto could just feel that nagging in his conscious.

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed, wishing that he wasn’t so damn nice.

“You said that you really needed that job, right?” Naruto asked as he kept his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had a feeling that he was going to end up regretting this.

“Yeah?” Kiba answered defensively. Based on their interaction a few moments ago, he didn’t see it as impossible for Naruto to take another jab at him.

“You of all people should know how expensive daycare is, so my wife stays home with the kids,” he finished.

Naruto clenched his jaw, trying to force his heart to stop controlling his mouth.

“So then I’m assuming she is capable of keeping children alive?” Naruto asked, already regretting it.

Kiba just raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Naruto insulting him, he could take, he knew that he deserved it, but he wouldn’t stand for anyone insulting his wife.

“Look, if Pakura wants to, she can come in tomorrow for an interview,” the blonde rushed out.

Kiba’s hand fell from the door handle in shock.

“Are you offering her a job?” He asked in astonishment.

Another sigh from Naruto.

“Yeah, if you guys need it until you find something. If she’s good and wants to stay, then whatever,” Naruto groaned out. 

No matter how much Naruto might dislike Kiba, he didn’t want the guy’s kids to suffer. 

“You’re serious?” Kiba asked.

Now he felt even shittier about what he’d done to Naruto.

He was such a good person and Kiba had treated him so poorly.

“Are you deaf? If she does well in an interview I’ll give her a damn job. On one condition,” Naruto paused to finally look at Kiba with a stoney gaze that would’ve made Sasuke proud.

“You are not to come here unless it’s one hundred percent necessary, alright?” Naruto told, more than asked.

“Yeah, okay. Thank you, Naruto. She’ll be here,” Kiba replied, feeling an awkward tension.

How was one supposed to handle showing gratitude for saving their family’s ass to an ex that they had royally fucked over and traumatized?

“Don’t mention it,” Naruto said curtly. “You’d better leave before my sister sees you,” he added when Kiba was still just standing there.

Kiba practically sprinted out of Rasengan.

He’d remembered Naruto’s sister, and even though she was an omega, she used to scare the shit out of him.

He’d seen her get into a fight with three alphas at a party once, and she fucking won.

He would not be sticking around to face her.

Naruto flung himself down onto his couch once Kiba was gone, relieved to be done with that, but dreading having to see Pakura tomorrow, and probably every work day for the near future.

_Why can’t I ever just say ‘fuck it’ to other people’s problems!?_

After going back and forth on whether or not he should actually go through with it, he took a deep breath to prepare himself for the shit show that would ensue the second Karin saw Pakura.

Naruto scrunched up his nose when all he got from what should’ve been a clearing breath, was a nose full of Kiba’s scent.

It’s not like it was horrible, Naruto had actually been quite fond of it at one point in his life, but now he wanted it gone.

He got up and opened his window to air his office out.

Kiba had been so furious, that he’d let off quite a bit of his scent, so Naruto feared that it would take a while.

With that thought in mind, Naruto stepped out of his office.

It just felt wrong to be surrounded so heavily by anyone’s scent that wasn’t Sasuke’s, especially if that scent belonged to another alpha.

Besides, Kiba’s couldn’t hold a damn candle to Sasuke’s scent.

Naruto figured that he could go cuddle Ren until his office no longer reeked of angry alpha.

There was nothing in the world that baby cuddles couldn’t help.

-

Naruto ended up having to stay at work well after he usually does.

He figured that it was best to not draw out the anxiety that he felt, and to just rip it off like a Band-Aid, so he had all of the teachers stay back for a quick meeting.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it’d be, but there had been more teasing than he hoped.

Ino had been the most relentless, probably due to the fact that her dream husband had been snatched off of the market by a different blonde haired, blue eyed beauty.

While he could’ve done without the teasing, he knew that they were all happy for him, well maybe not Hinata.

She didn’t have it in her to be unhappy that Naruto had found a mate that he loved very much, but she wasn’t exactly thrilled. She congratulated him nonetheless.

Naruto was just happy to have it over and done with. He’d panic about telling them that he is actually an omega and currently pregnant at a later date.

The newly discovered omega was currently mulling over the odd events of the day as he finished up the dishes from dinner.

Sasuke was still handling the emergency at work, and Haku had gone to bed when the kids did.

Naruto was secretly glad that the other omega had opted to stay with them instead of moving back in with his friend with a protective detail on him.

Naruto might’ve been hesitant about Haku staying with them at first, but he’d grown quite fond of the long haired man. He was a part of their family now, as was Yakeru.

It’d feel so empty once they left.

Naruto sighed with the wave of sadness that washed over him from thinking about Haku and Yakeru eventually leaving, plus his back fucking killed.

Frankly, his whole body felt like it was two steps away from giving out on him, but at least he had an explanation now. The perfect one.

He smiled and traced his hand over the much less defined lines of his stomach through Sasuke’s shirt.

It’d been less than twenty four hours, and Naruto was so in love with his tiny, little baby.

“Just wait until we tell everyone. You’re gonna have the best big sister and brother, and the best daddy,” Naruto whispered to himself as his hand lay flat across his stomach.

He knew that the soon to be person in his belly didn’t have ears yet, but he still felt the need to say it.

Just the thought of Sarada, Ren, and Sasuke showering the new addition with affection put hearts in his teary eyes.

“Thank you, Sasuke,” Naruto breathed out, in awe that all it took for Naruto to realize that he was an omega capable of carrying children, was a man that loved him too much to give a shit about outward appearance.

“For what?” A deep voice chuckled out as two hands came to rest on Naruto’s hips.

Sasuke was in the process of pressing his firm chest to Naruto’s back when Naruto jumped and whipped around with his elbow jutting out. He’d managed to stop just in time to spare Sasuke’s sharp jawline.

“Jesus! Don’t do that!” Naruto said as he clutched his chest.

Sasuke just laughed and wrapped his arms around the blonde.

“I’m sorry, I thought you heard me. Looks like those protector instincts are no joke,” he teased as he pressed his lips to Naruto’s, something he’d been dying to do all day.

Being away from his pregnant mate had been rough when it was just his inner alpha sensing that pull, but now that he actually knew that Naruto was pregnant, it was damn near impossible.

“They don’t have ears yet, you know?” Sasuke said with a fond smirk, letting Naruto know that he’d heard him talking to their child.

It made him almost growl in satisfaction that his children had such a loving and caring mother, all three of them. 

“How would you know?” Naruto shot back with an effortless smile.

If Sasuke didn’t know what baby smell was, Naruto doubted that he knew anything about gestational milestones.

“I know everything,” Sasuke teased.

Truthfully, he’d spent a lot of time on Google whenever he had the chance today, trying to find any information on the pregnancies of protector omegas.

Much like Tsunade had said, he came up with jack shit, so he’d have to wait until Naruto’s first appointment with Shizune.

He ended up going down a rabbit hole of pregnancy related articles, and just so happened to stumble on the fact that fetuses don’t form their ears until about eighteen weeks into pregnancy. He’d just never admit that to Naruto, because then the blonde would think that he was worried, even if he was.

The unknown always made Sasuke anxious, but hopefully Shizune would be able to put all of that to rest.

Naruto just laughed and shook his head before pulling Sasuke back in for another kiss.

This one was more languid than usual, but Sasuke’s tongue effortlessly sent sparks of arousal throughout Naruto’s body as Sasuke pressed his lower back against the counter.

“Are the kids asleep?” Sasuke asked urgently when he finally pulled back, slightly out of breath.

With a roll of his eyes, Naruto answered with, “No, I put our four year old in charge of Re-,” but couldn’t finish his sarcastic remark before Sasuke hoisted the blonde over his shoulder.

Naruto was shocked at the sudden change of orientation, not expecting Sasuke to be able to lift him like a rag doll.

He was not a small man, by any means, and he was generally more bulky in terms of muscle when compared to Sasuke, but fuck was that man strong.

Sasuke was in a hurry when he lightly tossed Naruto onto the bed, still mindful of being careful.

He’d honestly meant to just come to bed so that they could get comfortable and talk about the monumental news they’d gotten a few hours prior, but then Naruto looked at him with heavy eyes and a sultry grin.

Sasuke never could have resisted such an inviting sight before, but now that he knew Naruto truly and wholly was his, he was done for.

Naruto might have misconstrued Sasuke’s original intentions, which was caused by him being constantly horny, but now Sasuke was right there with him.

Sasuke was on his knees at the foot of the bed as he made quick work of his tie and suit jacket.

The second that his jacket was off, Naruto clung to him to pull the alpha down on top of him.

Sasuke followed Naruto’s eager movements and returned his heated kiss, desperate to be as close as possible to the man that he loved. The one that would be giving him his third child.

There was something primal in the way that thought drove Sasuke mad, his inner alpha not content with being in the passenger seat.

Sasuke let out a deep moan that rumbled in his chest as Naruto whimpered against his lips when his erection would brush against Sasuke’s.

When the blonde minx bit at Sasuke’s bottom lip hard enough to shock the alpha, he damn near snapped.

Sasuke pulled away from Naruto’s swollen lips and tucked his head into the crook of the omega’s neck, shamelessly inhaling the scent of his mate.

He groaned when he picked up on the telling, sweeter quality to it, and pressed his hips to Naruto’s with a desperate purpose.

“You have no idea what you do to me,” Sasuke breathed out as he roughly mouthed at the sensitive indention of his teeth on Naruto’s scent gland.

He gently ran his teeth over the mark, earning a drastic shudder from the gasping blonde beneath him.

“I can’t wai-,” Sasuke had been working his way up Naruto’s neck when he suddenly stopped, catching a scent that he recognized as having encountered before, but not being able to place it.

It was lingering in Naruto’s unruly hair. 

Naruto had changed clothes when he got home, but apparently being in his office with such a strong scent lingering in it all day had caused it to cling to him.

Naruto’s eyes went wide when Sasuke pulled back and looked a few seconds away from being unhinged.

His eyes were fierce and wild when he spoke.

“Why do you smell like alpha?” Sasuke rushed out before diving back down to bury his nose where he’d first picked up on the foreign scent.

He wasn’t jealous persay, protective was probably a better word for what Sasuke was feeling. He trusted Naruto, just not other people around Naruto.

His pregnant mate smelled of another alpha, and considering that he’d been home with the kids for a few hours, that meant it had to have been a very strong scent at one point.

The thought of Naruto walking around while smelling like another alpha made his instincts go haywire, and Sasuke was really struggling to keep them in check.

His canines ached with a need to claim Naruto again and again as he tried to place the scent.

“Who was letting off their scent around you?” Sasuke grit out, upset at the implications.

Someone obviously had let off their scent in Naruto’s presence, which was just a disrespectful thing to do to someone that was clearly mated, but it also could have meant worse things.

It could have been that someone wanted to try and entice Naruto, which no, Sasuke was not okay with, or they wanted to intimidate him, something that also did not sit well with the Uchiha.

“Babe, babe, calm down,” Naruto chuckled out as he lightly tried to pry Sasuke off of him.

He found it endearing that Sasuke was actually jealous, not that the stubborn man would ever admit to it.

“I’ll go shower and get it off me,” Naruto said as his laughing intensified when Sasuke just pushed himself even closer, probably trying to mask the unwelcome scent. 

“It was just from a misunderstanding at work, it’s alright. Kiba showed up a-,” Naruto had thought that explaining the scent would help to calm down Sasuke’s raging alpha, but evidently not.

The second that Kiba’s name fell from Naruto’s lips, Sasuke’s eyes flashed an unreadable, carnal emotion.

“Kiba? You saw Kiba today?” Sasuke grit out as his mouth went right back to leave bruising kisses on it, assuring himself that Naruto was _his_ mate. He was the one lucky enough to have him.

Sasuke was also on edge about the alpha that had physically assaulted Naruto at one point, being around his omega again while he was pregnant with his child.

He had all the confidence in the world with Naruto’s ability and willingness to protect all of their children, but still. He just couldn’t help his instincts.

“Sasuke, it was just a misunderstanding. I promise it’s fine,” Naruto said as he forced his voice to remain sure, which wasn’t easy with the intense spiking of Sasuke’s scent and the gorgeous man ravishing the sensitive mark on his neck.

“No it’s not,” Sasuke grit out as he pulled off of Naruto’s neck.

“It’s not okay,” Sasuke said, his alpha completely taking over.

“He doesn’t get to see you, doesn’t deserve to even know you,” Sasuke said fiercely as he interlaced their fingers and lightly pinned Naruto’s hand above his blonde head.

“He didn’t do this to you,” Sasuke said, his voice still heavy with emotion, but going softer as he dragged one of his large hands down to Naruto’s stomach.

Naruto gasped and involuntarily arched into the touch.

“He wasn’t man enough to do what _I_ did,” Sasuke finished as his hand lightly pressed into Naruto’s stomach.

Naruto gasped and was incapable of doing much else but nodding with wide, blue eyes.

Sasuke was so proud of his mate and wanted nothing more than to protect him and make him happy. It had tears welling up in Naruto’s eyes as his inner omega compelled him to reassure his alpha that there was no question who he belonged with.

“You don’t ever have to worry, I’m all yours,” Naruto groaned out as Sasuke trailed his tongue along Naruto’s neck.

“No one could ever take care of me like you do,” he moaned out as he grinded his hips up into Sasuke’s.

There were so many other reasons that ensured Naruto was in this for the long haul, but right now his blind lust was overpowering his sentimentality.

He could list every single reason why he loved Sasuke after he got dick.

Priorities.

Sasuke growled and pushed his hips down into Naruto’s, practically getting scraped half to death by his zipper with how unbelievably hard he was.

“I love you,” Sasuke said, his voice soft for what Naruto suspected to be the last time for a while, not that he minded.

“I love you, too,” Naruto said with a grin before bringing Sasuke’s lips down to his for a lingering kiss.

He could sense that Sasuke was really struggling to keep his instincts contained, with his jaw clenching and his fingers unusually twitchy. He knew that Sasuke usually kept it somewhat in check so as to not hurt Naruto, but Naruto wasn’t made of glass. 

He wanted it, all of it, and he wanted to give Sasuke the release that he needed.

Now that Naruto was pregnant, Sasuke’s inner alpha would be going crazy, and keeping it repressed would undoubtedly take a toll on the man he loved so much.

That just wouldn’t do.

“Now c’mon, alpha,” Naruto practically purred out as he bared his neck to try and tell Sasuke that it was okay to just let go.

Sasuke still looked tense, but began taking off his shirt.

Naruto could just see the calculating and controlled cogs turning in Sasuke’s head and he wanted to scream with how frustrating the man was!

He’s giving him an all access pass, and he’s still trying to act like he is calm, cool, and collected?

_Uh uh!_

“Please, Sasuke. I need you to show me I’m yours,” the blonde breathed out, and added an omega whimper for a little bit of razzle dazzle.

It was a plea, had a bit of teritorial appeal to it, and was a bit of a challenge. Naruto knew just how to make Sasuke tick.

By the time Naruto could even take a peek at Sasuke’s reaction, he was flipped over onto his hands and knees.

Sasuke molded his strong chest to Naruto’s back and roughly bit at the blonde’s mark. 

_My fucking mark!_

“I don’t even need to show you,” Sasuke breathed out against Naruto’s neck as he savored the stifled moan Naruto tried to keep in.

“You _are_ mine, and soon everyone will be able to see it too,” Sasuke growled out as his hands ran down Naruto’s sides over his shirt.

Naruto shuddered at the unfamiliar rasp in Sasuke’s voice, almost mewling at what it promised.

“God, you’re going to be so fucking beautiful,” Sasuke grit out, almost like he couldn’t handle picturing Naruto in a few months. 

His large hands had found purchase on Naruto’s hips, and he used his grip to pull him back into his throbbing erection, smirking when he heard the gasp that was elicited.

“You feel what you’re doing to me?” Sasuke groaned.

When all Naruto did was let out a ragged breath and nod his head, Sasuke’s hand shot up to Naruto’s throat, right below his chin.

He wouldn’t dare apply any pressure, not with Naruto being pregnant, but he did tilt the blonde’s head back, causing a beautiful arch to form in his back.

“Words,” Sasuke warned.

“Yes, alpha!” Naruto gasped out.

Another unseen smirk from Sasuke.

“You want me to show you that you’re my omega? Show you how no one can fuck you like I can? Make you scream like I do?” Sasuke taunted as he began to grind his hips into Naruto’s delicious ass and trail his tongue along the sensitive skin of Naruto’s neck.

Naruto felt like he was going delirious with a need unlike anything he’d ever felt before, and he’d felt plenty of need with Sasuke before.

He’d practically begged for Sasuke to let go, but it was turning out to be more than he’d bargained for, not that he was complaining. He just hadn’t expected anything to this extent.

The scent that Sasuke was letting off was something completely new, stronger than any alpha in rut that Naruto had ever experienced, and it was making his head swim and his eyes roll back.

He couldn’t even form a coherent response, but Sasuke let it slide in exchange for the drawn out moan that Naruto gave instead.

It was debauched and desperate, and everything that Sasuke’s inner alpha needed to hear.

“Show you how no one could ever make you cum on their knot like I can?” Sasuke practically seethed.

He wasn’t angry, not at all, but he definitely was not in control.

“Please!” Naruto choked out, feeling all too sensitive with Sasuke’s hands caressing him through his clothes.

“Come show me who you belong to,” Sasuke growled out before placing a surprisingly sweet kiss on Naruto's cheek.

Sasuke was suddenly gone, no longer pressed against every part of Naruto, and the blonde turned around to see him standing by the foot of the bed, his shirt already off as he slowly worked his belt open.

Naruto scrambled to take his own shirt off, quickly sinking to his knees on the ground in front of Sasuke.

There was no part of Sasuke that he could ever resist, but making the alpha come undone with his mouth was one of his favorite things.

Blue eyes watched as strong hands pulled the designer belt from the loops, flicking up to Sasuke’s face as he batted his long, blonde lashes.

_Fuck._

“You’re going to suck my cock until I cum down your throat, understood?” Sasuke asked in his alpha tone, sending the loveliest of shivers down Naruto’s spine.

He nodded eagerly as he grew impatient with Sasuke’s teasing, and shoved the man’s pants the rest of the way down, taking his boxer briefs with them.

Sasuke hissed at the cool air hitting his sensitive erection, fearing that he wouldn’t be able to last long.

Now that he knew Naruto was pregnant, he could barely contain himself.

Naruto got slightly distracted by the wonderful view of a naked Sasuke, so Sasuke snapped him out of his trance when he grabbed a hold of his length by the base and guided it to the blonde’s plush lips.

“You gonna be a good omega and take me as deep as I want?” Sasuke asked, his voice gravelly and strained with arousal.

Sasuke teasingly brushed the tip along Naruto’s parted lips as the omega tried to wrap his sinful lips around it, only to have it taken away so that he could properly answer.

“Yes, alpha. Please let me,” he breathed out, flicking his tongue out against the head being run over his lips, tasting the precum collected at the slit.

Sasuke groaned and tangled his fingers in wild, blonde hair as he began to push his length into Naruto’s eager mouth.

The second that Naruto’s lips tightly wrapped around the head of his cock, Sasuke was a goner, his rational mind no longer present as he pushed in further and further.

“Fuck,” Sasuke groaned out when Naruto’s pretty little nose was pressed into the light dusting of hair at the base.

Naruto’s tongue was laying against the sensitive vein on the underside as he ran it back and forth, effectively driving Sasuke mad.

Sasuke pulled back until only the head remained trapped by that wet heat, only to ruthlessly shove all the way back in.

When he felt the vibrations shoot through him from where Naruto moaned on his cock, he gasped and set a steady pace, fucking the blonde’s willing mouth.

“You like when I fuck your face? When I take what is mine from _my_ omega?” He teased in his alpha tone.

Naruto was unable to answer, clearly, only capable of letting out an approving whine as his eyes pricked with tears.

He loved making his alpha feel good and giving him a space where he could just let go of his control.

Sasuke stuck to more shallow thrusts, allowing Naruto to expertly swirl his tongue, making the alpha’s knees almost buckle from pleasure.

Sasuke’s grip on Naruto’s hair tightened as he held his hips still, tilting Naruto’s head back the slightest bit to make the blonde look up at him.

A pleased growl rumbled in Sasuke’s chest at how wrecked Naruto already looked, his blue eyes wild and hungry.

“Show me how much you love your alpha’s cock,” Sasuke prompted.

Naruto wasted no time in sinking his own head down, sucking his cheeks in to create a head spinning level of pressure.

“Fuck!” Sasuke moaned out as he threw his head back and let Naruto drive him closer and closer to the rapidly approaching edge.

The sounds of Naruto eagerly choking himself with Sasuke’s dick might as well have been music to the alpha’s ears as the blonde urgently sucked him off.

“God, your fucking mouth,” Sasuke said after a string of deep groans.

“Don’t fucking stop,” Sasuke gasped out as Naruto found the perfect rhythm and wrapped his tongue around Sasuke’s hard length, stimulating the head in the best way imaginable every time he got to it.

His grip on Naruto’s hair was the only thing keeping him grounded as the omega took him apart, making him lose himself in pleasure.

“Holy shit! Yes! Fuck, Narut- I’m close,” Sasuke moaned as his hips began to push forward of their own volition.

Naruto only went faster, doubling his efforts, making Sasuke’s toes curl.

“I’m gonna cum, babe! I’m gonna- fuck, I’m cumming, I’m cumming!” Sasuke incoherently groaned as his hips stuttered violently and he felt Naruto take his load down his throat.

Sasuke let out ragged breaths as he came down from his high, but the little minx between his legs kept bobbing his head and moaning, sending harsh shocks of pleasure and pain through Sasuke’s over sensitive body.

He was still impossibly hard, knowing that he wouldn’t be going soft until after he knotted his mate.

Sasuke pulled Naruto off with a hiss of oversensitivity, but the omega let out a displeased whine and tried to take Sasuke back into his mouth.

If the alpha wanted Naruto to show him just how much he loved his cock, then he was going to do just that, damnit!

“You want more?” Sasuke asked in an amused tone as he slowly got used to the oversensitivity and pulled Naruto off of his cock once more.

The debauched sound of Naruto taking in deep breaths as he stared up at Sasuke could’ve been the alpha’s undoing.

What really pushed him over the edge was the sound of Naruto’s wrecked voice whispering, “Please.”

Sasuke had to take a moment to not just ravish the man right then and there.

The alpha tapped his fingers on the underside of Naruto’s chin to silently tell him to stand up.

Naruto slowly raised himself on his shaky legs, coming face to face with Sasuke, who pulled him into a bruising kiss.

Sasuke’s tongue immediately found his while the alpha harshly gripped his ass and pulled Naruto’s hips into his own.

Naruto let a pleased mewl out into Sasuke’s mouth at the pressure on his confined erection.

The sound sent a possessive wave through Sasuke, knowing that he was the only one that would ever get the pleasure of hearing those sounds again.

The Uchiha quickly pulled away and got on the bed, resting his back against the throng of pillows Naruto had collected lately.

Naruto’s mind was so hazy with want that it took him a second to catch up and realize where Sasuke was.

When he saw Sasuke strewn out on the bed, he hurried to shove his own pants off as Sasuke quickly reached over to his nightstand for the lube.

Naruto crawled over Sasuke and pressed his swollen lips to Sasuke’s again before moving to his neck.

Sasuke let a pleased rumble reverberate through his chest as Naruto lavished his exposed neck.

When Naruto got to the mark donning his scent gland, he pressed a kiss right on the sensitive, raised edge.

“My alpha, the only one I’ll ever belong to,” Naruto whispered out, almost to himself.

Sasuke bared his neck even further and let out a groan at both the words and the stimulation,

“Come here,” Sasuke said as he placed his hand on the back of Naruto’s head and guided him back for a deep kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Naruto began sliding his way back down Sasuke’s body, but Sasuke sat up and grabbed the blonde by his hips and effortlessly spun his body around so that Naruto’s perfect ass was right in his face.

Naruto let out a surprised gasp, but was able to follow Sasuke’s line of thinking, and eagerly took the alpha back into his mouth.

Sasuke groaned before pulling Naruto’s hips back and licking a wide stripe along Naruto’s hole as he palmed at the rounded muscles.

The alpha’s eyes damn near rolled to the back of his skull when Naruto let out a loud moan around his cock.

Sasuke circled the tight hole with his tongue and applied some pressure, watching as Naruto’s back arched obscenely as he continued to take Sasuke to the back of his throat.

Sasuke continued until Naruto was barely able to do much else but moan around him with how distracting the pleasure was, then he silently popped the cap of the lube and applied it sloppily to his fingers.

When he pulled back, Naruto whined and tried to push his hips back, but gasped when he felt Sasuke’s slick fingers circling his entrance.

The omega pulled off of Sasuke’s cock when he felt the first one push in.

Naruto gasped as his fingers dug into Sasuke’s legs, his grip only tightening when Sasuke quickly added a second finger.

“You’re so tight,” Sasuke said with a strained voice as he gently bit at the flesh of Naruto’s ass cheek.

The blonde moaned and pushed back against Sasuke’s fingers, trying to find that spot.

“Look at you, fucking yourself back onto my fingers like a good little slut,” Sasuke sighed out as he watched Naruto desperately try to get more.

“You want me to hit your sweet spot, hm?” Sasuke teased as he purposefully crooked his fingers to avoid it.

He wanted his omega to be a sobbing, begging mess.

“Please Sasuke,” Naruto breathed out as he shamelessly threw his hips back.

“Take my cock back into your mouth,” Sasuke said, wanting to feel Naruto’s moan throughout him when he finally did hit that spot.

Naruto quickly obliged, taking half of Sasuke’s length back into his mouth, and right as he did, Sasuke hit his prostate and pressed into it, hard.

Naruto’s entire body jolted and if it weren’t for the rather large intrusion in his mouth, he would’ve screamed.

Sasuke let out a drawn out moan when he felt Naruto practically scream on his cock, and pushed in a third finger, not able to withstand waiting for much longer.

Sasuke was mindful to hit Naruto’s sweet spot with every thrust of his fingers, eagerly taking in every sound emitted from the frenzied blonde.

“You want me inside of you, babe?” Sasuke teased as he mercilessly pressed into that sensitive bundle of nerves.

“Fuck! Please Sasuke! Fuck me, please! I need to be full of you,” Naruto cried out as he released Sasuke’s length.

Who was Sasuke to deny such a lovely request?

Sasuke gently withdrew his fingers and managed to flip Naruto up and over onto his back so that his head was now that one resting on the pillows as Sasuke settled in between his spread legs.

“Baby, I’ve already filled you so full,” Sasuke whispered as he gently stroked his fingers across the skin of Naruto’s stomach, causing said blonde to arch up into the touch and let out a choked moan.

Both of their instincts were more than pleased at the meaning behind Sasuke’s words.

“I need more,” Naruto sobbed out as Sasuke teasingly grinded their erections together.

“I know, love. I’ve got you,” Sasuke whispered out against Naruto’s neck as he lined himself up after having applied more lube.

Sasuke had to take a minute to compose himself when he felt himself being encased in the tight heat as Naruto let out a delicious moan from the feeling of being stretched so perfectly around his mate.

The alpha put more pressure behind his hips and let out a groan as he felt himself bottom out as his hips pressed against Naruto’s amazing ass.

“God, you’re perfect,” Sasuke groaned out as he felt Naruto get even tighter when he wrapped his legs around Sasuke’s waist to pull him in even closer.

Sasuke's head was buried in the crook of Naruto’s neck so that he could get every trace of Naruto’s scent that was being let off.

He pulled his hips back and started with shallow thrusts to give Naruto the chance to adjust to the large intrusion, but Naruto impatiently clawed at the alpha’s back.

“You said you were going to make me scream,” Naruto moaned out, purposely riling Sasuke up.

Sasuke wanting to be gentle and to cherish Naruto was suddenly gone, figuring that he could shower him with affection after they were both satisfied.

Sasuke pulled all the way back until only the tip remained in the blissful tightness, and snapped his hips forward fiercely, earning him a choked off sob from his omega.

“Then scream for me,” Sasuke growled out in his alpha tone as his hips picked up a grueling speed, pistoning in and out of Naruto faster than ever before.

Sasuke could feel the strain after a few minutes of working Naruto up to the point of crying, but he didn’t give a shit about muscle strain, he only cared about Naruto. Naruto being his, and only his.

Sasuke removed himself from Naruto’s neck and planted his hands on the bed after throwing Naruto’s legs onto his arms where they bent, to hold his hips up the slightest bit and to change the angle.

He knew exactly how to hit that spot within Naruto, no matter which position they were in.

“Right there!” Naruto cried as he arched his back up into Sasuke’s chest and desperately dragged his nails down Sasuke’s back.

Sasuke smirked, knowing that he was close to getting his desired reaction out of his mate. It usually took a lot for Naruto to truly be loud, his mothering instincts always telling him to keep it down.

He slowed down his thrusts in favor of going harder, pressing into Naruto’s prostate harder and longer.

“Sasuke! Holy shit, yes, yes, yes!” Naruto cried out.

“You gonna cum for me?” Sasuke asked between groans.

Naruto could only let out a choked moan, but Sasuke still hadn’t heard those delicious screams, so he slightly changed his angle.

“No, no, no! Please!” Naruto cried out, instantly missing the feeling of Sasuke against his prostate.

“Scream for me,” Sasuke grit out, struggling to ignore the desperate throbbing of his knot, trying to stave off his orgasm.

“Make me,” Nauto said defiantly, still present enough to give a little bit of that attitude that Sasuke fell in love with.

Sasuke smirked and adjusted his angle and thrust in with the heaviest thrust yet, earning him that desired scream as Naruto clawed into his back and his body jolted.

“There we go, so perfect,” Sasuke said, his pride evident in his voice.

“You want me to fill you even more, babe? Want my knot?” Sasuke moaned out, no longer able to hold off his orgasm.

“God yes! Fucking give it to me!” Naruto sobbed out.

“I’m gonna knot, fuck, Naruto. I’m cumming, fucking take it!” Sasuke shouted as he felt his knot catch on Naruto’s opening and the waves of bliss overtook him, but not before Naruto let out an ecstasy laced scream and shot all over their stomachs.

It took a moment for them to calm down and take control over their inner alpha and omega, but when they did, Sasuke couldn’t contain his smile.

“I didn’t hurt you did I?” Sasuke asked, back in concerned mate mode.

“Fuck,” Naruto sighed out between ragged breaths, “Not at all,” he added as he flashed Sasuke a euphoric smile.

Sasuke let out an amused huff and leaned his head down to press a sweet kiss to Naruto’s lips, but now that their breathing wasn’t as loud, they were able to hear the faint sound of Ren stirring around in his crib from the baby monitor on Naruto’s nightstand.

Not but three seconds later, the sounds of his cries were ringing out from the device.

Sasuke sighed, but grabbed Naruto when he made to get up, briefly forgetting that they were still tied. His urge to take care of his child taking over for a moment.

“It’s fine,” Sasuke said as he reached over the blonde to grab his phone.

“Don’t you dare,” Naruto said, knowing just what Sasuke was planning to do.

The few times that Ren had woken up while they were still tied, Sasuke had to text Haku to ask if he could handle the infant until they were no longer ‘incapacitated’. It had been embarrassing enough knowing that Haku knew why they needed the help without actually having to say it.

So apparently him and Sasuke came up with a ‘signal’.

Sasuke just smirked as he typed out ‘Code Blue’ and sent it off to Haku.

-

“No shit? You’re not messing with me?” Shisui asked, astonished.

The last thing that he expected to see when he walked into his office was Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke, and his Auntie sitting and waiting for him.

He made a career out of listening to his gut, so he just knew that it couldn’t have been the best of news, but even he hadn’t seen any of this coming.

Sasuke had kept his mother’s and Kakashi’s active involvement in all of this to himself, simply because Kakashi told him to.

Since Shisui’s precinct originally handled Itachi’s case, they held the jurisdiction on it, but they had no claim to Kakashi’s laundry list of charges.

Kakashi had been in his line of work long enough to know that no matter how trustworthy a person seemed, it was always best to keep things close to the vest until absolutely necessary when dealing with someone like Fugaku Uchiha.

He’d worked with Shisui countless times, and he seemed to be as straight as they came for blues, but he was related to the man that he was on a crusade to throw in prison for the rest of his life. His reservations weren’t unreasonable.

“Not messing with you. Sasuke has secured you two witnesses, and I need to know when you can move forward with an arrest to allow an opening for Mikoto to get his actual books,” Kakashi said lazily, despite the fact that he had never been more invested in anything in his entire career.

“And now you want my cooperation? After keeping me in the dark?” Shisui said with a scoff.

He had nothing against Kakashi, personally, but their agencies were frequently battling for jurisdiction on cases, and Kakashi’s side had just snagged one on a bullshit technicality. He was still a little jaded.

“I apologize for the lack of communication, but you have to see why it was necessary. This is the closest that I have ever come, and I wasn’t going to play it loose with my ace in the hole,” Kakashi said, playing to Shisui’s rationale when it came to the complex system that was corruption.

Shisui raised his brow and eyed Kakashi before shrugging.

“I can move at any time. What works best?” Shisui answered as he reclined in his chair, no longer on the defensive.

Kakashi looked over to Mikoto expectantly, giving her the floor.

She was as cunning as they came, and refused to give up any information on her husband until she knew that his arrest for Itachi’s death was set in stone, hence the impromptu meeting.

“It won’t take me long,” Mikoto said with a sigh as she leaned over to put her head on Sasuke’s shoulder.

She may be willing to do it, but that didn’t mean that she was happy to have to accept the fact that the man she had once loved had turned into something so horrible.

“He keeps the hard drive in a safe, in the floor, under a false tile in his office restroom at the firm. My handprint is the only one, apart from his, that will open it,” she said.

Kakashi’s eyebrows rose. He was impressed, he would've never thought to look for a false tile in an office bathroom, and he almost always thought of every option.

_Well played, old man._

He may not be a fan of Fugaku Uchiha’s, but he could respect intelligence, and there was no doubt about it; Fugaku was incredibly intelligent. Infuriatingly so.

“And no one will be suspicious of you being there after he is arrested?” Kakashi asked.

“No,” she sighed out, grabbing her son’s hand.

“Those who know there is anything to hide, would expect me to come clean house after him being arrested. Those who don’t, wouldn’t even know that I’m in the building,” she answered.

She played the loyal wife well, and knew that no one would stop her to question her.

“My biggest concern is him being released before I can hand everything to Kakashi,” she added.

She knew that Madara could get Fugaku out of pretty much anything. He and Fugaku had even made a twisted game out of it.

Anytime Fugaku was hit with a search warrant, a subpoena, or any legal issues, Fugaku called Madara. Anytime that Madara managed to get him out of it quicker than his current record, Fugaku would ‘donate’ a new addition to the lawyer’s extensive classic car collection.

“He won’t be released, Auntie,” Shisui started as he began digging through a stack of papers on his cluttered desk. “I can’t guarantee that he won’t eventually come home, but it wouldn’t be for at least a week. I doubt that any judge would grant him bail, given his resources, though. He’ll probably be in jail when he gets hit with Kakashi’s charges.”

Mikoto simply nodded, satisfied with the answer.

“Alright then, I will push a warrant through secure channels, and I can probably go down and grab him from his office no later than two,” Shisui said as he found the proper paperwork.

Kakashi nodded, slightly upset that he wouldn’t be able to be the one to slap a shiny pair of metal bracelets around Fugaku’s wrists, hell, he wouldn’t even be able to see the look on his face when it happened.

To not cause Fugaku any suspicion about the safety of his financial records, Kakashi couldn’t be anywhere near them when his head was pushed into the back of Shisui’s cruiser.

The fact that he would be the one to lock in over three hundred years of sentences for Fugaku softened the blow a bit, but only a bit.

“Can I be there?” Sasuke asked, speaking up for the first time since Shisui had arrived.

Shisui just let out an amused huff and shook his head, knowing full well how much his younger cousin despised his father.

“Yeah, I’ll let you know as soon as I get the arrest warrant approved,” Shisui answered.

Sasuke nodded and sat back in his chair as he squeezed his mother’s hand tighter for reassurance.

Due to the rather heavy topic of conversation, Sasuke had lost track of time, so when he and his mother finally got back to his car, he almost had a damn heart attack.

“Shit!” He whispered when he saw the digital clock on his dashboard.

“What’s wrong, love?” Mikoto asked, worry etched into her tone.

Naruto’s first appointment with Shizune was today, in thirteen minutes to be precise, and his mother’s house was a twenty-five minute drive, and that was if there was no traffic. There was always traffic.

He and Naruto hadn’t told anyone but Haku, he had just accepted his mother back into his life, and it wasn’t like they were exceptionally close again after just a few, short weeks. It would take some time for him to be comfortable allowing her back into his family and life completely.

At least, that’s what he would always tell himself. 

As soon as he got anywhere near her comforting scent, those thoughts all went right out the fucking window. 

No matter how much he tried to deny it, he was a momma’s boy through and through, and he wanted nothing more than to want to keep her separate from his family.

He wished to have her there, to be involved in every part of all of his children’s lives, but he just couldn’t make himself forget all of the years that she’d just let his father torment their family. Her having any knowledge of said torment was still questionable, but it didn’t take away the lingering resentment.

“Nothing, I just have a meeting that I need to get to, so don’t freak out if I break a traffic law or two,” he said as he unceremoniously threw his car into reverse and pulled out of the precinct parking lot like a bat out of hell.

He knew that he pretty much had a zero percent chance of making it on time, but he’d fucking try.

He’d told Naruto that the only time Kakashi could meet with Shisui was today at ten, but Sasuke told Naruto that he would reschedule for a later date.

Naruto sighed and didn’t seem thrilled, but insisted that Sasuke go, seeing as how his mother refused to go unless Sasuke was with her.

Haku said that he’d go to Naruto’s appointment with him, just in case Sasuke couldn’t make it, so Sasuke knew that he wouldn’t get in trouble with Naruto if he missed it, but he didn’t want to have to miss it.

He’d missed every appointment, minus the births of his first two children, and it was one of his biggest regrets.

It made him feel like complete shit, but he promised both himself and Naruto, that he would be there for everything.

_I’m already breaking my promise._

Sasuke sighed and took notice of the street signs, realizing that they were only about fifteen minutes away from Shizune’s office.

He took a pathetic excuse of a look at the left lane and cut off a few drivers to get into the turn lane, recklessly making a U-turn.

“What are you doing?” Mikoto asked, slightly alarmed, her hands braced dramatically on the dashboard.

“I can’t be late, so are you okay to come with?” Sasuke asked as he weaved in and out of traffic like a dick.

“I don’t have anywhere to be,” she answered, hiding her smile at the fact that she would be getting to spend more time with her son, even if it was with her sitting in some office at his work.

Sasuke only gave her a small nod in acknowledgement as he focused on the road, seeing as how he was going well over the posted speed limit.

He figured that he would have to tell his mother about Naruto being pregnant at some point, seeing as how she would be figuring it out soon enough.

They drove in standard Uchiha silence as Sasuke’s eyes kept flicking over to the time displayed on his dashboard, his stomach twisting unpleasantly when he saw that Naruto’s appointment had already started.

Less than five minutes later, Sasuke pulled into the parking lot of Shizune’s practice, silently thanking whatever the hell was up above that allowed for it not to be in some complex maze of a medical complex.

“Sasuke?” Mikoto asked as she read the word ‘Obstetrics’ on the sign in front of them, her brow raised in an eerily similar fashion to him.

“I thought you said that you were seeing an alpha?” She asked with a smirk.

“No time for that, now. You coming inside or not?” Sasuke rushed out as he unbuckled his seatbelt and hurried out of his car.

He was purposefully ignoring his mother’s knowing tone, since she had guessed that something like this was in the works when he had first called her to meet with him for lunch. He hadn’t been lying though, just unaware.

“I can?” She asked as she hurried to take off her seatbelt as well.

“Not if you don’t hurry,” Sasuke said as he started to jog up to the door.

He heard the telling clicks of his mother’s Loubotin’s on the pavement behind him, so he clicked the lock button on his key fob and rushed into the office.

All the heads of the omega’s in the waiting room that were all in varying stages of pregnancy shot up when he ran right up to the large desk.

He could feel their stares on his back, not able to care enough about the gawking, though.

“Naruto Uzumaki, has he been seen yet?” He rushed out.

“He went back about ten minutes ago, are you Mr. Uchiha?” The friendly looking beta asked as she ceased her typing.

“Yes,” Sasuke breathed out, relieved that Naruto or Haku had notified them that Sasuke might make it so that he wouldn’t have to cause a scene to be let back.

“Go right on back. He should still be in exam room seven,” she said as she reached to point to a large door off to the side.

“Thank you,” Sasuke said with a slightly less forced smile than usual.

He spared his mother a glance to see if he would have to ask her to wait out here, but she was already settling down into one of the comfy looking chairs with one of the magazines in her hands.

She flashed him an adoring smile that reassured him, and he quickly turned his head before his own smile broke out at having his mother in his life again.

When he made it through the door, his eyes scanned down the hallway and quickly located the large seven next to the door at the end of the hall, but the door was wide open.

Sasuke made his way to the opened door, not surprised to find that the room was empty, but he could smell Naruto and Haku’s scents still lingering within the threshold, so he followed the invisible trail until he came to a closed door down another hallway.

He briefly wondered if he should risk barging in on some stranger’s private moment, but then he heard Naruto’s unmistakeable laugh and barged right in.

The room was dark, save for the dull glow of the blank screen next to Naruto, allowing him to see what he assumed to be Shizune, and Haku standing next to Naruto, holding his hand.

Naruto had his shirt rolled up, exposing his stomach as Shizune held some kind of medical device in her hand.

All three heads turned in surprise to see Sasuke, Naruto immediately breaking out into a goofy smile.

“You’re here!” The blonde said excitedly. “Shizune, this is Sasuke,” he said to the kind looking omega.

Sasuke just offered the woman an awkward nod, not really knowing what to do; he’d never been to one of these appointments before.

“It’s nice to meet you, Sasuke. I’m glad you could make it. Just in time, too,” she said as she held up whatever the hell the thing in her hand was called.

The alpha let out a relieved sigh right as Haku came over to him.

“Good choice,” Haku said with a smirk as he stood on his tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Sasuke’s forehead.

Haku had been hoping that Sasuke would put all of the craziness aside for once and allow himself the simple pleasure of having this precious moment with Naruto.

He’d had to go to most of his appointments with Yakeru, alone, and he wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. Especially not someone as sweet as Naruto.

“I’ll be out in the waiting room,” Haku said, wanting to give the couple their privacy.

Sasuke was about to call out a warning that Haku would be coming face to face with his mother when he walked out there, but the warning died on his tongue when Shizune spoke up.

“Shall we get to the fun part, then? Ready to see your little one?” She asked in a cheery tone as she applied a gel to Naruto’s stomach.

Naruto nodded so vigorously that his blonde hair began flopping, and it eased Sasuke’s nerves a bit. He didn’t quite know why he was so nervous, this wasn’t his first rodeo, yet it somehow was? He didn’t know what to make of it, and he was not comfortable with unfamiliar territory.

“Hold my hand!” Naruto basically demanded as he shook his outstretched arm to indicate that he had been waiting long enough.

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts and hurried over to Naruto’s side and grabbed his hand as requested, watching as Shizune began pressing the medical apparatus to Naruto’s exposed stomach.

Sasuke didn’t even try to pretend that he understood what he was looking at when the screen in front of them lit up.

It looked like just a bunch of black and white television static, but then a clear window of black allowed for Sasuke to make out a blob.

_Is that-?_

As soon as the blob showed up on the screen, Shizune pressed a button on the machine next to her, and the sound of rhythmic thumping filled the quiet room.

Sasuke felt Naruto’s grip tighten significantly on his hand as the blonde gasped.

“Is that the heartbeat?” Naruto asked with undeniable excitement in his voice.

Shizune did a double take at the screen and moved her magic wand more to the left and made the screen zoom in as another pattern of sound waves popped up and the thumping suddenly fell out of rhythm.

“Those would be the heart beats, yes” she said with a small chuckle as she continued to study the screen.

Sasuke raised a brow in confusion and looked to Naruto, whose eyes were shining with tears as his mouth hung open.

“ _Beats_? As in plural? Are there fucking three of them!?” Naruto gasped out, remembering Tsunae’s joke from his appointment with her.

Sasuke suddenly felt slightly light headed.

_Three? As in one, two, and fucking three, babies?_

Another chuckle from Shizune did very little to calm the panic rising in both of them.

They were all on board for a baby, but _three_!?

“As far as I can tell, it's just the two,” she reassured as she isolated two shots onto the screen.

“Baby A,” she said as she used her free hand to point to the still image on the right, “And Baby B,” as she referred to the one on the left.

“Two?” Sasuke asked in awe.

For some reason, the thought of twins seemed like a walk in the park in comparison to triplets.

“We’re having twins?” Naruto choked out, tears freely falling now, not even able to give a shit.

“Identical twins by the looks of it,” she confirmed as she resumed her exam.

Naruto couldn’t believe it.

He’d gone from thinking that he could never possibly have children, to getting two all of a sudden? His head was a whirlwind of emotions that had no chance of calming anytime soon.

He and his sister had always been so close, even if they weren’t identical, so he was overjoyed that these babies would get to experience that connection, maybe even more so.

“I’m only seeing one placenta, so I’m pretty sure you guys will be welcoming identical twins in about thirty weeks,” she said with a smile as she pointed to yet another amorphous blob.

As Shizune continued explaining things to Naruto, Sasuke zoned out as he stared at the screen and got lost in the sound of his third and, apparently, fourth childs’ heart beats.

The more that he studied the tiny things, the more he began seeing distinct shapes. He actually thought they were rather adorable.

_Cute little blobs._

When Shizune had printed out the images of the sonograms and left the room, Sasuke realized that he was staring at a still photo, the sound of their little heart’s beating no longer able to be heard.

Sasuke took one look at Naruto, and he didn’t even have to take a guess. With the way that the blonde omega clutched at the images in his hands as he stared at them, Sasuke knew that Naruto was absolutely in love. There was no question about it.

Sasuke was too, but he was much more reserved about it.

“How are you feeling?” Sasuke gently asked as he wiped away the tears rolling down Naruto’s cheeks.

“I- Amazing. Look at them, Sasuke!” Naruto answered, not able to form the most eloquent of words at the moment.

“Them,” Sasuke hummed out fondly as he rested his head on Naruto’s and placed his hand on his mate’s stomach.

He was still shocked at getting more than one, but no longer terrified.

“Thank you,” Naruto breathed out as he stroked his finger across the outline of their babies' first ever photos.

“I already told you,” Sasuke chuckled out as his eyes found the sonograms, “I’m the one that is grateful.”

Naruto heard the waiver in Sasuke’s voice as he spoke, so he sat up and turned to look at the alpha.

“Are you crying?” Naruto asked, looking like he was about to start crying even more from Sasuke suddenly crying.

It was a mess.

“No,” Sasuke lied as he wiped at his slightly wet eyes and adjusted his suit jacket to try and play it off.

“Sasuke Uchiha, you liar,” Naruto teased with a wide grin.

Sasuke let out a laugh and pulled Naruto in for a kiss, whispering a sarcastic, “Shut up,” against his lips.

-

It had been nothing short of a celebration back at Sasuke’s penthouse that night.

Naruto and Sasuke walked out from the back of Shizune’s office to see Haku and Mikoto engaged in a friendly conversation, much to Sasuke’s surprise. 

Haku had been leaning over in his chair to show Mikoto photos of Yakeru at various stages of his life and was telling her about his personality, which had many similarities to Itchai’s.

His mother had well concealed tears barely shining in her eyes when they approached the two omegas, Sasuke’s expression not giving anything away, but Naruto’s smile had no chance of being stifled.

“I take it that everything went well?” Haku asked with a smile as he locked his phone and put it away.

Naruto could only nod and hand his friend the sonograms that had been in his hand, watching as Haku realized that there was more than one.

“Twins?” He asked, looking almost as happy as Naruto.

“Identical!” Naruto confirmed as Haku shot up to his feet to hug the blonde.

“Congratulations, I can’t wait to meet the little troublemakers,” Haku said as he squeezed Naruto’s shoulders before pulling away.

Haku had set the sonograms down on the arm of his chair, which was next to Mikoto. She wasn’t trying to be intrusive and overstep, but it was almost impossible to not hear that she would be getting two more grand babies, grandchildren that she could actually know.

When Naruto and Haku parted, the newly discovered omega actually took notice of the woman hugging Sasuke.

Even if he hadn’t seen her face in the family portrait that Sasuke had destroyed, he would be able to tell that she was his mother; they had strikingly similar features. 

He found it adorable how Sasuke easily melted into his mother’s arms, unfamiliar with seeing the alpha so soft with anyone but him.

When Sasuke pulled away, even though it looked like he could’ve spent hours in her loving embrace, the woman turned to Naruto and gave him a friendly smile.

“You must be Naruto. I’m glad to finally meet you,” she said as she stuck out her hand.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, not fully trusting her because of who she was married to and what that man had done, but then decided to trust Sasuke’s judgement. He knew that his mate wouldn’t bring anyone around him if they posed a threat.

Naruto had no issue with constantly getting new family members, even though it was starting to get a little overwhelming at this point.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Naruto said as he pulled her into a hug.

He kept it short, because he didn’t really know the woman, but she was Sasuke’s mother, and if Sasuke wanted his mother back in his life, that would mean that she’d have to be in Naruto’s life, too.

_Might as well get used to her._

Plus, she looked like she gave really good hugs, and Naruto could’ve used a motherly hug in that moment, even if it couldn’t be from his own mom.

Mikoto let out a startled laugh, but returned the friendly gesture with a light squeeze before Naruto stepped back.

There was a slight bit of tension from the Fugaku of it all, but it was broken when Naruto suggested that they all go grab lunch.

It was a nice, relaxed meal spent chatting about nonsense.

Naruto hadn’t realized just how much he missed normal small talk, with all of the divorce and police talk he’d become accustomed to, and it felt so good to just feel like a normal adult again.

Then Sasuke’s phone rang.

It wasn’t anything too sinister, for once, but Sasuke instantly turned serious when he read the text message displayed on his phone.

“It’s Shisui. He was able to finish everything up quicker than expected. He’s getting ready to head to his office,” Sasuke said, answering everyone’s silent questions.

Mikoto sat up straight and adopted the same cold expression that Sasuke always got. It amused Naruto just as much as it terrified him.

“He’s actually getting arrested?” Haku asked, invested in the subject for obvious reasons.

“In about twenty minutes,” Sasuke said, sounding relieved and also conflicted.

“Are you okay to take my mother home?” Sasuke asked Naruto.

“Yeah, sure. Where are you going?” Naruto asked, not wanting Sasuke anywhere near his father, even if the scumbag would be in handcuffs.

“Can I come with you?” Haku asked, shocking Sasuke and answering Naruto’s question without meaning to.

“Are you sure?” The alpha responded, not wanting Haku to have to relive anymore trauma than necessary.

“Absolutely,” The omega said, with absolutely no hesitation in his voice.

“Alright, then. I’ll meet you at home?” Sasuke said to Naruto as he set money down for the bill and grabbed his jacket. Being sure to press a chaste kiss to Naruto’s lips before he and Haku headed towards the exit.

Mikoto rolled her eyes and handed Naruto the money, taking her American Express out of her purse.

Naruto went to protest before Mikoto stopped him.

“Please, let me buy our lunch, it's a celebration,” she said kindly.

Naruto knew that Sasuke wasn’t pushing him and his pregnancy off to the side, it made sense that he couldn’t be with Naruto twenty four seven, but still. It felt nice to have the good news plainly acknowledged as a reason to celebrate.

He had gotten used to Sasuke’s more reserved nature, but that didn’t change his own; he still openly showed his emotions with reservations.

Throughout the lunch and the time that Naruto and Mikoto spent at the table by themselves, he came to the conclusion that he very much liked Sasuke’s mother.

He could tell that she was lingering and putting off having to go home, understandably not wanting to be alone while her husband is arrested, probably never to see the light of day outside of a prison again.

Naruto didn’t want to make her feel awkward, and he was much more comfortable with his role in calling some shots with the parenting for Sarada and Ren, so he took a chance.

Haku had already taken Yakeru to meet Mikoto for lunch, and he agreed that it was okay for her to see him, so long as Fugaku was nowhere near them.

He asked Mikoto if she would like to come over for dinner and accompany him to pick up Sarada, Ren, and Yakeru from daycare for an early day, to which she jumped at.

While Naruto drove Mikoto to be able to see her grandchildren for the first time in a long time, Sasuke and Haku were standing across the street from Fugaku’s office building.

They were in front of Sasuke’s car, Haku standing in front of Sasuke while Sasuke’s hand rested on the omega’s shoulder for comfort.

It was the first time that Haku would be seeing Fugaku Uchiha since that very man attempted to end his and his son’s lives.

He was terrified, but needed to be there; needed to see that he would truly be punished for killing of the man he loved.

Fugaku looked smug when he was escorted out of the front door by Shisui, his hands bound behind his back, but Sasuke could tell that underneath that mask, his father was rattled.

_Good._

His eyes flicked up as he was brought to Shisui’s cruiser, landing on Sasuke’s smirking face, but then his eyes found Haku and he looked livid.

He had to have realized just how sure the case against him was if Haku was there. Up until that moment, he had thought that the omega was dead.

Haku remained strong, but his hand shot up to grip Sasuke’s that was on his shoulder as he stared one of the most powerful men in the country down.

Sasuke was impressed with the man that he still considered to be his brother-in-law, and he felt an indescribable wave of relief fall over him as he witnessed his father’s head forcibly being shoved down into the back of a police car.

There was something poetic about his father having to see the face of Itachi’s love as he was arrested by Itachi’s best friend.

The drive home had been heavy with unsaid emotions, but none of them particularly negative. 

Not a single word had been shared between the alpha and the omega, but that quickly changed when they walked into Sasuke’s house to a shit storm, but in the best way possible.

Yakeru and Sarada were running around searching for their grandmother, whose stilettos could clearly be seen sticking out from behind the couch, while Naruto and Karin played with Ren as he flung finger paint all over his high chair.

It was just what they needed, and everyone ended up staying for dinner, which just so happened to be when Naruto raised his eyebrows as he looked down to his stomach, silently asking Sasuke from across the table if they should tell Karin and the kids.

He felt like he was going to explode by keeping his pregnancy a secret, and he wanted nothing more than to tell them, but he respected Sasuke’s privacy and general aversion to emotions.

It’d been an emotionally draining day for the Uchiha, and Naruto could tell, so he didn’t want to pile anymore on to that. Even if the emotions would be good, all emotions tended to take a toll on Sasuke.

Naruto was pleased and surprised when he received a small smile and a nod.

“Hey, so Karin, do you like having a niece and nephews?” Naruto blurted out.

Subtlety never was his strong suit.

“Yeah?” She answered with an amused huff before taking a sip of her wine.

“Want two more?” He asked with a grin.

She finished her sip as she raised her eyebrows and gave him a confused look over the rim of her wine glass.

“What’s going on?” She asked skeptically.

She figured that they would adopt kids or get a surrogate at some point, but she thought that it’d be better to wait until the ink on Fugaku’s intake papers dried.

He completely ignored her and turned to Sarada, since Ren was too young to understand yet.

“Do you like being a big sister, babygirl?” Naruto asked.

“Yeah! Just not when he cries,” Sarada answered as she spooned ice cream into Ren’s mouth.

Naruto laughed, because he could understand that.

“Well, what if I told you that you were going to get two more siblings?” He asked as he took a sip of his water, feigning nonchalance.

“Do I get to pick them!?” She asked excitedly, remembering Naruto’s explanation of adoption from back when she had asked how he and Sasuke would ever have babies.

All of the adults laughed, but Karin was the only one of them that was left confused when Naruto shook his head to tell Sarada no.

“Wait, wait, wait. I beg your fucking pardon?” Karin asked as she almost choked on her wine.

Naruto let the crass language slide and briefly explained that he is actually an omega and that he and Sasuke were expecting twins, he could leave the more in depth explanation for later.

Karin thought that her brother was just messing with her until the sonograms came out.

After what felt like hours of studying the images, she wordlessly grabbed her brother and hugged him within an inch of his life.

She refused to let go as she told him congratulations over and over again, so unbelievably happy for her brother and him getting to have his ultimate dream.

It wasn’t entirely how he planned to tell Karin, but it had been exactly what he needed that night.

Sasuke and Mikoto got the kids ready for bed, Sarada refusing to go to bed until she got to read a story to her new siblings. The fact that she couldn’t read yet didn’t stop her as she rested against Naruto’s side and described the pictures of her favorite book. She even turned it around to ‘show’ the pictures to his stomach.

Naruto’s eyes couldn’t have stayed dry if he bothered to try.

He’d stayed up with his sister while Sarada and Ren were being put to bed, explaining the whole protector omega gene that made pregnancy a possibility for him.

It’d been one of the best nights Naruto had in quite some time. There hadn’t been huge revelations of familial treachery, no worries, only happiness.

It was the refreshing peace that they all needed to put an end to all of the madness.

When Mikoto and Karin left, closing the door felt as if they were finally closing the book on the heartache caused by Fugaku Uchiha.

But of course, that man wouldn’t go down that easy.

Sasuke had been woken up at almost two in the morning by his phone ringing.

He cracked his heavy eyes open to see that it was his mother and he immediately answered after seeing that he had multiple missed calls from Shisui.

“Sasuke, I can’t explain right now, but I need you to listen to me. Get Naruto, Haku, and the kids out of the house right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do we think?(((;
> 
> I would say that I’m sorry for the cruel cliff hanger, but I had to end it somewhere, and why not build the suspense.
> 
> I hope that you guys enjoyed this one, because the next chapter will be the last one before the epilogue!
> 
> I’m super excited to hear what you guys thought about the chapter and what you guys think might happen!(:
> 
> Thank you so very much for all of your comments and for taking the time to read my crazy story. I’ll be replying to all of them later tonight<3
> 
> Hope you’re all staying safe out there!<3(:


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